


S.O.S Earth

by edenblack85



Series: SOS Series [1]
Category: Transformers (Bay Movies)
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-27
Updated: 2015-12-01
Packaged: 2018-01-06 09:21:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 33
Words: 144,582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1105121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/edenblack85/pseuds/edenblack85
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A what if story about the Autobots had never reached Earth on time before the Decepticons got to the All Spark. What would have happened if they had not come at all? Answer; The Earth becomes a dark, enslaved world ruled by the Cons.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Title: S.O.S. Save Earth  
> Short Summary:  
> A what if story that Autobots never reached Earth on time before the Decepticons got to the All Spark. What would have happened if they had not come at all? Answer; The Earth becomes a dark, enslaved world ruled by the Cons. Rated M.
> 
> Pairings:  
> Annabelle L./Starscream, Annabelle L./Ironhide (not romantically), Sam/Mikaela/Bumblebee, Optimus Prime/Elita One. 
> 
> Warning: Story contains implied and/ or scenes of: strong language, strong torture, attempted rape, angst, adult scenes, strong violence and probably more…
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers or any characters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fair warning: This is actually a story I have transferred from a different Web site and is one of my earliest stories I have written. There is probably multiple mistakes throughout the entire thing but I am currently going through it now to correct them. I just wanted it up because it is a good story and has recieved online awards for it. I hope you enjoy it either way. And there is a sequel to it that I will be putting up soon enough. I just need a little time to get it up. Enjoy.

June 18, 2024

In the year of 2007, exact day unknown, there was an attack on a US Military Forward Operations base in Qatar and that was where it all started. In the beginning, no one knew who was responsible for nearly three hundred US soldiers' deaths. The United States of America didn't know who to point fingers at and that caused a huge problem for all of the nations of the world. It put all of the Countries on red alert and nearly caused the beginning of a huge war between Earth's people. No one knew who had been responsible for the destruction of the Qatar Base. Until a few days later when the remaining survivors of the Qatar attack managed to record one of the terrorist attacking a small desert village. 

It wasn't even human, but a giant alien robot, which looked like some kind of insect, or a scorpion. 

There were only a few survivors, including the DATAR (Destroy All The Alien Robots) founders, though it didn't make much of a difference. 

A few days after the attack in Qatar, only two of the US Soldiers survived while everyone else was killed in an attack at a hidden Government base within the Hoover Dam on the Nevada/Arizona border line, which also triggered the destruction of a city in Nevada, Mission City near the California borderline. 

By that time, the US Government knew little about what they were up against but they were too late to actually stop the world wide war from beginning. Very few survived in Mission City, but like it was recorded, it was too late. 

The enemy of the World called their selves Decepticons, natives from a far off Planet, which was later found out to be called Cybertron. The Decepticons came to Earth, looking for some kind of power source called the All Spark. They followed some kind of trail that their leader left, leading them to Earth where they began their attacks on mankind. 

It is unfortunate to state that the Decepticons managed to succeed what they had planned, capturing the All Spark and using its power to start taking control of the world. 

Their leader's name is Megatron. 

In the beginning of the year 2008, the world finally stopped fighting each other and then came together to solve the alien infestation. The United Nations decided to reek war against the Decepticons. 

Six years passed and the war drew on. Countless of Earth Soldiers fought in the ferocious battles against the robotic invaders. And countless lives were lost. The Decepticons were too powerful and there were too many. It also did not help with the fact that Megatron was using the power source, The All Spark to create a vast army of alien robots to continue his campaigne on taking over Earth. 

For six years, Earth fought in the war for Earth Freedom. It was the very first time in history that Earth actually came together and fought alongside together for their freedom. 

But after the Decepticons destroyed the United Nations and its leaders, everything fell apart. The World Leaders were dead and therefore no one could lead the wars. The Decepticons grew too many and millions of Earth people lost their lives while trying to fight the invaders. 

It was July 4, 2013 on the American holiday, Independence Day, did Earth lose the war and surrendered to the Decepticons. Earth and its people surrendered their freedom and their lives to the unworldly invaders and they were enslaved. 

For many, many years, humans were the slaves to the Decepticons. It became a world law that each Decepticon was allowed no more than five personal slaves. Those who were unfortunate not to claimed by the Decepticon ranks were shipped off to many different fractions. That, or they were killed to control the number of humans. They either became workers in factories or they became means of entertainment to the Decepticons. 

And by means of entertainment, humans were used for cage fights, or known as Gladitorial Games, or they became sexual side shows. The Decepticons thought it was funny and disgusting of how humans breed, yet they couldn't help but find sex facinating. They liked watching the male gender squirm as they were forced to watch females strip tease. No one did it willingly. And certainly, most humans were never allowed to breed and produce what the Decepticons call Sparklings. There were only very few exceptions. If a pair of humans broke that law about unlawful breeding, the sentence was death for both parents and the Sparkling. 

Very few law broken offspring were allowed to live, yet they were marked as so and shamed by the rest of the human race. They were outsiders, even though most of the human race felt pity for them. They just didn't show it. 

But even as the human race became slaves to the Decepticons, there were rebellion fractions; humans who had yet to be caught and refused to be enslaved. They continued to defy the alien robots and refused to bow down to them. 

DATAR was created not long after the death of the World Leaders, lead by the two first Soldiers; whose names were lost but were only known as Will and Epps. They never went by their full names. No one know really knows what their full names were, probably to throw the Decepticons off for if one of their men were caught and interrogated. 

Still, many years under the Decepticons' rule had passed and the Rebellion Wars continued. Humans are still living their miserable lives as slaves. Many humans were being slaughtered in the Cyber Earth Games; either by other human beings or by Decepticons who requested to be the ones doing the slaughter.

Earth has become a very dark place because of the alien robots. And the humans are praying and hoping for some kind of miracle. But as it is, miracles do not happen without action. 

That is why I send off this SOS into the deep reaches of space. I send this message to any other outworldly lifeforms out there. If you receive this SOS, please have mercy on our small back water planet. Please have mercy on the human race. I beg of you, save us. 

This message was recorded in the Summer Season of the year of 2024. 

My name is Annabelle May Lennox.  
Slave of the Second In Command Decepticon, Starscream. 

Please!! Save us!!


	2. Chapter One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Songs best used for reading Chapter;
> 
> Sweet Dreams-Marilyn Manson  
> Everything Burns-Anastacia

A Week Earlier before the SOS transmission  
June 9, 2024

Okay. 

This had not been a good idea, she realized as she crept through the shadows of the building, looking wildly around. She should have thought harder about the situation and planned it out a whole lot better than she should have. She knew that if anything went wrong, she could end up dead. 

But it was too late to turn back now. There was no going back. She had volunteered for this and turning back would mean she would get into trouble and probably be punished. 

Creeping through the shadows of the building, she listened very hard to whatever sounds that echoed off the broken stone walls. There were hardly any sounds at all, really. There was only an eerie silence that sent chills down her spine as she pressed her back against the wall and peered around a dark corner. 

There was nothing there. Good. 

Glancing around, she carefully began making her way around that corner, her hand tightly clenched around a long metal rod. Her chest heaving a little and her skin damp from prespiration, she slowly began making her way down the make shift sidewalk while her eyes dashed from one place to the next. 

'Where are they?' She thought to herself as she looked around the dark buildings. 

It was right then she felt a shiver run down her back, something that she had learned to never ignore. It was that shiver and hearing the gravel shift under someone's feet that caused her to whirl around in time to see a fist flying at her head. She barely had time to quickly drop down to a crouch before swinging the rod and hitting her attacker hard in the stomach. She heard the satisfying loud "oof!" as she quickly threw herself to the side just as a nail embedded bat came down to smash her head in. 

It missed, much to her attacker's fury, and to her relief. 

Immediately, she was on her feet, standing in a low crouch with the pole held up like a bostaff. Glaring at the two men that stood before her, though one was slumped over, holding his middle, she slowly rose. 

They were two ruffians; clothes torn and severely dirty from their rough lives on the streets. There was some dried blood splattered all over them from whatever happened in their lives. They, like their clothes, where severely dirty and each one had a few scars from daily battles of life in this dark world. Each one of them had black hair, though she could tell it was just stained from dirt and mud and probably blood too. Their dark eyes were a little red from long nights and dark circles stained beneath their lower eye lids. These two had had a very rough life, she realized. It just brought a little more guilt deep with in herself. 

But it could not be helped. It was either kill or be killed in this little game. 

Without a word, both of the men charged at her, spiked bats and a shrapnel of metal as weapons. She had to move quickly, ducking and rolling away as they tried to swing them at her. She had to move to avoid their weapons. This was a deadly game that she was being forced to play. 

Slamming the end of her metal rod against the violently cracked conrete under her feet, she barely looked up to see a sharp nine inched nail shoot right out of the end, turning into a make shift spear before she spun quickly in a semi circle, thrusting her make shift spear at one of the men. It was to her disatisfaction that the nine inched nail slammed into the first man's chest, causing him to let out a sickening grunt before he fell to his knees and slumped over. She hated doing things like this, but really, she did not have a choice. 

An animalistic growl rose up out of the second man as he lunged at her, managing to get past her spear before she could defend herself with it. He hit her like a football player, slamming her down to the ground as he rose his metal blade, trying to bring it down on her. It was close to stabbing her in the neck. 

"Urg!!" She cried out as she strained all of her muscles, trying to keep that blade away from her. He was stronger than her, that was for certain. Her biceps were starting to burn from all of the strain as she frantically glanced around for anything to defend herself with. There was really nothing close to her and she couldn't take her hands away from this man's arm and hand, risking getting her throat ripped out. 

'Slag it!!' She screamed furiously at herself as she looked back up at the man, whose were wide and crazed. That was one of the scariest looks she had seen so far. It was the look of a man who had seen so much devastation and death that he literately went insane. "Shit!" She couldn't stop herself from screaming out as the blade's tip pressed against her collar bone, breaking the skin a little. 

It was right at that moment, a very irritated and angry growl echoed all around her before lights flashed on in the buildings and on the streets and even on the very high ceiling nearly seventy feet high above her, blinding her. Even the man jumped a little startled, distracted by the sudden lights. He stopped trying to push the blade into this teenage girl's neck just to glance around. 

And it was suddenly, a very large, metallic skeletal hand with sharp tips on the ends of his fingers lashed out, grabbing the man around the waist and ripped him away from the teenager. Without even pausing, the giant savior of the girl threw the man down the street, sending him crashing and rolled across the rough terrain, not caring that it was tearing up his skin. 

"ANNA!!!!" A metallic voice boomed, making her flinch under the rage within it. "What did I tell you?! Do NOT drop your weapon!! No matter what the situation is! You never drop your weapon! Your weapon is your life!!! You hold onto it with every inch of your life!" 

Anna Lennox cringed a little as she forced herself to sit up, using one hand to touch the small trickle of blood on her neck from where the man had wounded her. She knew that she was in trouble. And she knew that she should have remembered that rule. It was the very first rule that her master always snapped at her before she entered the battle simulation. 

"Forgive me," She said climbing to one knee and bowing low to her master who loomed above her. "Master Starscream. It won't happen again." 

The large Decepticon growled at her, shaking his head as he eyed his human pet. He didn't even bother to look down the road he had built for these battle simulations to see the human male climbing to his feet, wincing and looking around for what had thrown him. He didn't even spare a glance at him when the human saw the alien robot looming over the girl he had been trying to kill moments ago. He didn't look up as that foolish human male let out an outraged, insane cry as he foolishly charged at the alien robot, snatching up the make shift spear that belonged to the girl to attack the Decepticon with. 

All Starscream did was raise one arm directly at the man before blowing him to pieces with a single Energon blast. There were hardly any pieces left of the human after getting hit at a close range like that. 

"Foolish human girl! I don't know why I bother even teaching you how to defend yourself! This is the fifth time you've done that!" Starscream growled down at the girl before standing up straight. "If I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times! Do NOT drop your weapon! It is the only line between life and death when it comes to battles! It is your only chance of living when encountering Reaver! Do you want to get caught by one and ravaged by one?!" 

Quickly, Anna shook her head as she pushed herself to her feet. That was more like a "Hell No!" as the question echoed in her head. 

To even catch the eye of an Reaver, it sent chills down her back. Reavers were the side of humans that weren't humans any more. They were the nightmares to humans who had yet to see the darkest pit of insanity of mankind. 

"I'm sorry, Master Starscream. It really will not happen again." Anna said, keeping her head low. It was always a smart thing to never look into the eyes of a Decepticon when they were pissed off at you. It was like challenging them and they loved challenges. It only meant that you were ready to die in the most painful way. 

Growling at her, Starscream turned sharply around, looking around the battle simulator, which was an actual city block he was using to train his personal slaves. It was here he made his slaves go through defensive training, due to the fact that Reavers crept around the shadows at night. He knew very well that if he didn't make them train, much like most Decepticons didn't, his human slaves would be attacked by the insane humans who had seen the darkest sides of their own kind and because of the dark wars. They were humans who had gone insane and lost every purpose of their lives to his kind. They didn't even care if they killed, raped, and even ate their own human kind to survive. There had been plenty of Reaver raids, especially against the Decepticons' own personal slaves and it caused the alien robots who now ruled the planet called Earth to have to act. It was either let it alone and let their slaves be killed, forcing them to have hunt down or buy more with their Energon supplies or train their humans how to defend their selves when they were sent out on errands. 

Most Decepticons didn't care about their humans either way so they didn't really do anything with them. A lot of humans died that way. Those were the stupid Decepticons who didn't take the right actions to protect their property. The smart Decepticons trained their humans, or at least the ones they didn't want to lose. 

Anna was such a human. She had been in the enslavement of the Second in Command Decepticon, Starscream since she was about nine years old. So about for nine to ten years now, she had been serving him. She was mostly just a pet to him, after being with him for so long. She had only been a kid when she was captured by the Spy Changers and the Sweeps, Decepticons who hunted down the human kind. She hadn't been alone. Her mother had been captured with her and was sold to Starscream in a pair. 

But that was a long time ago. 

As it was, Anna's mother no longer lived in the world. She had been killed for trying to escape, something that she didn't dare trying. She had remembered that day when Starscream killed her mother for trying to escape, and trying to take her with. She had not been punished because it really hadn't been her doing. But her mother.....she was no longer among the living. 

Anna, herself, was now 18 years old, soon to be 19 years old. She was fair looking human girl with fair blonde hair running to her shoulders, with addition of lavendar high lights. Her eyes were a cool blue color, which her mother had once claimed to belong to her father. She was a tall, slender young lady and was built like a dancer or maybe an ice skater. She was quick enough on her feet but she didn't dare to use her swiftness to escape. She knew that she would never make it. 

And like most personal slaves, or any slaves for that matter, she was marked by her master. She had the tattoo of Starscream's name on her left back shoulder blade. Anna remembered when Starscream had finally marked her as his own. It had hurt badly to get this tattoo of his name for many days. 

To be marked, it took nanobots created by the Decepticons. They would burrow into the skin and let the ink set deep within. They were actually worse than the old fashioned way of needles. The human slaves could feel the tiny bead sized robots digging into their skin with razor sharp legs. Anna remembered crying when she was marked. It had been after her mother's death when Starscream marked her. She swore she still could feel the nanobots in her shoulder, though they weren't. They never stayed but burrowed their way back out once the tattoo was completed. And even that hurt worst than them going in. Her back had hurt badly for nearly a week or two. She could never sleep on her back, only her stomach until she fully healed. And she hadn't even gotten medicine to take care of the pain. No humans ever got pain killers to kill the ache where they got their tattoos. 

As it was, Anna was technically Starscream's favorite slave because he hardly went anywhere without her when he went to Decepticon meetings or socials. He never really messed around with any other of his slaves, which he didn't have many. Anna was nearly the only one he owned other than two others; one being the same age as she was and one other who looked after them when he wasn't around. They mostly just served as companions for Anna but they did a good deal of the work in Starscream's quarters. 

One was a teen girl named Jesse and she had been Anna's friend for quite a few years now. She was spanish and teaching Anna a little abit about the language. They had been together for a few years now and close as they could ever be. They shared a lot with each other. Telling each other stories of their past and their terrible hardships. They were best friends. 

As for the other one, she was an old woman, yet full of fire. She sure had a temper on her to match her strawberry blonde hair. She even had watery blue eyes, which seemed to spark with fire now and then when she was feeling fiesty. Her name was Judith, Judy for short. She was a short but slim person. She was at least in her fifties now, close to her sixties. She kept an eye on the girls, making sure they did all right. She had butted heads with Starscream a few times but not enough to truly piss him off. Anna only thought the reason he kept Judy alive was the fact he was easily amused with her. She was fiesty, yet she did everything she could for the welfare of Anna and Jesse. He seemed to have little respect for her for that. But now and then, he tend to punish Judy when she pushed too far. Not that it happened very often. Judy was a very smart woman. Maybe a little crazy, but she knew when not to push their master and when to. 

"Enough of this." Starscream growled after taking in the entire scenery and looking down at Anna. "We have a meeting tonight. Go to your quarters and clean up, you filthy little human. We leave in one Earth hour." 

Anna felt herself relax a little. She was used to Starscream insulting her and even Jesse. They were just mere insults, some that some might take greatly offense to. But these insults coming from Starscream meant that he wasn't annoyed enough to punish her. 

So, bowing ever so low to the ground where her forehead nearly tapped a ruptured cement block, Anna carefully and slowly stood up. "Yes, Master Starscream." She said in the most polite way she could before she turned and started towards the large gothic and alien like structure that belonged to Starscream. It was their home, just outside from the battle city simulator he used to train her. She was the only one that he was teaching to fight. He didn't waste any time with Jesse or Judy. He didn't see the point because he didn't care for them. 

It was Anna that he cared about. 

Anna could never figure out why Starscream liked her so much. She was a beautiful teenager but to Decepticons, all humans were hideous. They didn't care at all for how human females looked. Beautiful or not. Women were ugly to Decepticons. But for Starscream, Anna was something to him. And she couldn't put her finger on it of what his intentions were. 

It did scare her a little to think that maybe he was training her for the Cyber Games. Most human pets of the Decepticons tend to be put into the Games for cubes of Energon, which was somewhat a currency and delicacy for the giant alien robots. It was their food, basically. Or if at a certain potency, it was their alcohol. Some Decepticons tend to get drunk off of it. And when a Decepticon was drunk, God have mercy on humans. 

As Anna made her way into Starscream's quarter stations, she kept touching the small cut on her collar bone, trying to get the slight bleeding to stop. She should have been used to getting hurt during her training sessions. She almost always got a nick or two while fighting Reapers. That was probably why Starscream was so annoyed with her. He was teaching her how to fight and she still couldn't get the knack of it. 

"Hey, Anna." 

Anna's head came up from looking at the dab of blood on her fingers that she kept touching her cut with and spied Jesse carrying a few rags to cleaning the station. She was on cleaning duty again while Judy was probably cooking what little food they had for their selves. She was always the cook, not that there were too much food for humans left on Earth. The Decepticons had been draining quite a bit of Energon from the planet, making it rather dark and almost dead. There were still vegetation growing, of course. But there wasn't too many animals left for meat. If there was, they were sure hidden well in the mountains, which the Decepticons seemed to leave alone. 

With a small smile, Anna lift her hand to greet her best friend, whose eyes went wide at the sight of blood on her fingers. She grimaced, knowing that once again, she had worried her friend. 

"Oh, my god! What happened, chica?!" Jesse asked, quickly moving over to examine the wound. 

Shaking her head, Anna took a step back. Even from her fellow humans, she still had a hard time accepting a few personal boundaries. She didn't like being touched very much other from Jesse and Judy. Mostly Judy. "Training with Starscream. I had to go up against two Reavers again." She said, rolling her eyes. 

Jesse sighed, rolling her own before digging into her somewhat ragged jeans and pulling out tissues. "Geeze. Why does he push you so hard? It's not like any Reapers can even break into this place, more or less, even survive too long if they did. Master Starscream would kill them if they even tried." She grumbled, pressing the tissue against Anna's neck and letting her hold onto it. 

"Jess." Anna said, a little deadpanned. "He's not around. So don't call him Master. When he's not around, he's a fucking robot." 

The Hispanic girl grimaced as she stepped back and dug into her pocket to find a hair tie so she could pull her long shaggy black hair back. "Anna, you can't say that about him. He'll find out that you said that and you'll get into trouble again. Remember the last time he found out that you called him a fucking robot and not Master?" She asked. 

It was Anna's turn to grimace and she nodded. She did remember. It had been terrible too. The punishment for insulting the Decepticons behind their backs were bad enough. Any human caught red handed insulting a Con was punished. They didn't like it. But for Anna, she might not have been beaten like some humans tended to but her punishment had been not so cool. Starscream had placed her in a very dark room where she couldn't see at all. It was even very hot within the room. And it did not help that Anna was afraid of the dark. She was actually terrified of it. She was also claustrophobic and the room was rather small. She could stretch her arms outward and touch all four walls. She hated it. 

So, sighing, Anna folded her arms after stuffing the tissue into her pocket and looked away. "I'm all right, Jesse. I didn't get too hurt. Master Starscream stopped the Reaper in time before he could have shoved a shrapnel into my neck. Now, we're going to another stupid meeting. I don't know who we're meeting today. But I really hope that....." She cut herself off, knowing it was better not to even say the name she was thinking. She did not want her 'Master' to know that she had feelings for a certain someone. 

But Jesse knew who she was talking about. She merely smiled slyly and tilted her head to the side. "Ah. A certain Cajun that you want to talk to. I'm sure he'll be there. Wherever Thundercracker is, Pete will be there." She said in a low voice. 

Anna, feeling a little paranoid quickly looked around to make sure that Starscream wasn't around to have heard that. She didn't know what would happen if he found out she was seeing another human illegally. If any of the Decepticons ever found out, it could be death on both of their heads. "Shh. Don't say that, Jesse. You know what would happen if the Master found out about Pete." She said quietly. 

Jesse's only reply was running her finger and thumb across her lips to show she was going to shut up about it. 

After that, Anna went straight to her room to get ready. She had to get washed up, taking a nuke warm shower, seeing that the heating system wasn't the greatest. But then again, she was used to it like that. Once showered and clean from sweat and grime, she got dressed in semi torn black but tight jeans and a black halter top, cut high just below her medium sized breasts. Only once did she grimace when she spotted a scar on her high rib cage. 

The scar was one she had gotten only a few years ago. She remembered it very well and it still haunted her to think about who, or what had given it to her. She had been fifteen years old when she got it. How it happened, Anna had been sent on a delivery run by Starscream. She hadn't been alone, of course. One of Starscream's late slaves had been with her. A man named Sparkplug, which she never really knew his real name. It was the only name he went by. He was a big stocky man and quite strong and brave. He had been very kind to Anna and even taught her a little about vehicles, seeing that he was quite the mechanic. He had been Starscream's mechanic, actually. It was whenever Starscream returned from a battle against human rebellions that he ever was forced to fix the Decepticon. 

As it was, Anna and Sparkplug had been delivering a message to another Decepticon when the worst thing that could ever happen did happen. 

They were attacked by Reavers. 

The Reavers had came out of nowhere and everywhere. There had been at least six of them, actually hunting in packs and looking for other humans to eat or destroy. They had attacked Anna and Sparkplug with the intention of raping her and eating him. They nearly succeeded too if it hadn't been for Starscream remembering that he needed something else for them to do. At least for Anna. He had shown up just as the Reavers had stabbed Sparkplug to death for defending the teenage girl and nearly had every bit of clothes ripped off of her. The Second in Command of the Decepticons had arrived just in time to see what was going on before he began to crush each Reaver into bloody jelly. 

But enough damage had been done to Anna. She had watched the Reavers tear Sparkplug apart and eat his innards raw. It scarred her for whatever years she had left since that fateful night. A few times, she woke up screaming in terror for what she seen behind her closed eyes. There had been a few times that she thought Starscream would punish her for it. 

But he never did. 

Instead, he did something very rare. He comforted her. He would sometimes come online out of recharge, hearing her before going into her quarters and letting her sleep in his claws. 

It was extremely rare to even see Starscream, more or less, a Decepticon to ever do such a thing. Never in Anna's life did she ever, ever see such gentlness from a horrible being like Starscream. 

But then again, the next morning, Starscream always warned her that if she told anyone about it, he'd whip her so bad that her back would bleed. So she kept her mouth shut. She didn't even tell Jesse or Judy about it out of fear of him actually doing it. She never told anyone that night. It was only now and then did she dream about it and woke up to whimper and sweating profusively. But she did not scream very often any more. 

In result and terrible rememberance to that night, Anna had her bad dreams and that scar where a Reaver clawed at her, wanting to taste her blood. She always shuddered whenever she caught a glimpse of it in shiny mirror like metal. 

Luckily, it was hidden under her low back shirt. 

Grimacing again, Anna chose to ignore it and just went to meet her master at the front doors. She knew better than to dwaddle when it came to him. She had been late before and it was never a pretty sight. She mostly got yelled at by Starscream but only once did he ever hit her when she tried to do it again just to see what would happen. 

It was fortunate for her that he wasn't there yet, waiting at the main doors of his station. So she just waited there, leaning against the cold metal wall, twirling her hair around her finger. 

It wasn't even long before Starscream showed up. He was not alone. He was with Judy, ordering her to make sure things stayed quiet in his station. It was how he liked things, though Anna knew that she would nag about it later. Judy hated the silence. It bugged the hell out of her. 

"And make sure that damn girl," Jesse, thought Anna, nearly rolling her eyes. "Goes to the service doors to sign for the incoming Energon delivery." Starscream growled at Judy, who just bounced her below the shoulder and curly hair off her back. 

Judy finally glanced at Anna where she was waiting and smiled a light smile. She had heard about the training session with Starscream from Jesse, of course. She had been worried but not too surprised that she only came out with a scratch on her collar bone. "Hey, Anna, sweetie. How are you feeling?" She asked, completely cutting Starscream off from saying anything else. She ignored the piercing glare he was giving her. 

Biting her lip, Anna gave her master a quick glance before looking at Judy and smiling back at her. "I'm feeling good. Maybe a little disappointed in myself for not taking on two pitiful Reavers but I'm not bad." She remarked. 

"Well, maybe if you would listen to me," Starscream began to growl, causing Anna to cringe a little and recieve his own glare from Judy. "You wouldn't have that fragging problem. You're weapon is your life! You hold on to it as if it is apart of you!" 

Anna merely nodded as she bowed her head to him in fake respect, not that he noticed that it was fake. "Yes, Master Starscream. I see you are right. I hope you will forgive me for my utter failure." She had to ignore the sharp scoff she got from Judy, who didn't say anything after it." 

Starscream, however, also scoffed before stretching out his claws for Anna to clamber onto and then stood up. He shot Judy a sharp look as he began to head out the massive metal doors to his station. "Do what I have ordered you, female human! You have your orders, now get to them!" He growled at her as he began to leave. 

"You know! It'd be nice if you only asked for once instead of barking it at me! And my name is Judy!" Judy called after him; just to irritate him. She was ignored though. She was used to Starscream ignoring her and it relieved both teen girls that he didn't seem to mind getting barked at by a human like Judy. He just mostly ignored her whenever she did or said something like the sort. 

Traveling to their destination, Starscream actually flew like always with Anna riding in his cockpit. She had spent a great deal of flying with her master, though in the beginning in her life with him, she had always been uneasy. She was still uneasy about flying but it wasn't like she had any choice. 

It was quiet on the way, other than the roaring engines belonging to Starscream. Neither human or Decepticon spoke, which fit the teenage girl just fine. Talking to Starscream was like talking to a wall. He never listened, really. He wasn't exactly the best listener at all. And if he did talk back to her, it was like trying to sweet talk to a rapid bear. He was not the best conversationalist either. So Anna always welcomed the silence. She spent most of the silent times thinking about her past, the present and the future. She wondered about the past, wondered exactly how things went so wrong for the human kind. She heard stories, of course. But it wasn't exactly one hundred percent of what was true and what wasn't. She also thought about what her father might have been like. She had asked her mother a few times about him but her mother really couldn't stand talking about him. It seemed to hurt her a lot to even think about him. 

And Anna knew when her mother had thought about him. She had tended to start crying, though trying to hide her tears from her daughter. 

There was only one time did her mother even have a chance to tell Anna about her father. She never told her his name though. So the young teen wasn't even sure what his name was. Her mother had told her that he had been a Soldier in the war before she had been born. He had been fighting in a human war before the Decepticons had even shown up. He had been away when Anna had been born and he had never even seen her before he was killed in the first Decepticon attack on the Planet. 

So Anna didn't even know what her father looked like, what his name was, or how exactly he died. She had never met him in her life and it was a sad way to live. But she did know that he had gone down, fighting the enemy in a brave but foolish fight. 

Truth be told, the young teenager loathed her father for dying and abandoning her and her mother to live a life in hell with the Decepticon Slave Traders and with Starscream. She did not forgive him for it, even if it was probably stupid. 

Anna hated her father. 

There was a plus though. 

For many years of listening to the stories about the human resistence called the DATAR, she had always fantasized about what it would be like to have a father out of one of them. She always dreamed of what it would be like to have a father just like the Legendary Leader of the DATAR, Will. Or even the Legendary Epps. It was mostly the Leader, Will that she dreamed to having as a father. She had heard many stories about him. She heard how he was one of the last soldiers that survived at the very base that her own father was killed at. She wondered if Leader Will had even known her father. And how great it would be if she could find some way to escape from the evil clutches of Starscream, join the resistence, meet Leader Will and fight by his side until she either died or when they finally won the war against the Decepticons. She oftened dreamed what it would be like to call someone like Leader Will her dad. And wondered if he would ever even mind. 

But with a silent sigh, Anna knew it was just a passing dream. It would never ever happen. It was a fool's dream to think that someone like her could ever escape the Decepticon clutches and become a DATAR member and help kill all of the Decepticons. 

Not with her fighting skills. 

If she couldn't defeat one simple Reaver, there'd be no way in hell that she could ever defeat an alien robot. 

"Anna! You better not be asleep! We're arriving!" Starscream barked at her through his radio system. 

Jerking out of her thoughts, Anna looked around Starscream's cockpit before she noticed that he was starting to decend. She heaved a sigh and bobbed her head into a nod. "Yes, Master Starscream." She simply said. 

Now it was time to put on her slave mode and serve her master at this god forsaken Decepticons meeting. 

Yippeee. 

A/N: Hope you enjoyed this chapter.


	3. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Songs best used for reading Chapter;  
> Two Birds, One Stone-Drop Dead, Gorgeous (Wes Borland/Renholder remix-Underworld Rise of the Lycans mix)

 

The meeting that Starscream was going to with Anna was being held at one the traditional places for the Decepticons to even meet at. It wasn't exactly a meeting, really. More like a night out at the bar. Only you're surrounded by massive beings made out of metal getting drunk off of Energon and torturing humans. It was like a Gothic Heaven for people who liked fetish like stuff.

The name of the bar was too difficult for humans to even say, seeing that it wasn't exactly in English but Cybertronian. So the humans made up their own name for it. 

Black Alloy. 

The name that the humans had chosen for the bar was quite appropriate. It was because the entire was like a nightmarish gothic castle straight from hell made completely from black metal. It was so twisted and warped that it could have only came out of someone's dark imagination. It had been designed by a Decepticon called Sideways, who had a twisted sense of humor for horror fetish like stuff. 

Anna hated coming to the Black Alloy. It was so creepy to her but she did her best to not let it show. She only went to the night club because it was nearly Starscream's favorite place to go. 

The Black Alloy belonged to the very one who designed it, Sideways. It's design was of a massive gothic castle, big enough to fit at least a hundred Decepticons and thousands of humans. Not many humans went to it though. And those that did go were either slaves or they were forced to entertain the Decepticons. And there different ways of entertaining them. 

Mostly, the Black Alloy had a very twisted style of fetish night. It was like watching a gory horror flick right at the bar. Only it wasn't on the big screen. It was in real life. 

There were a several stages within the Black Alloy, all in different areas of where the Decepticons usually sat. They were all different in their own way but they all held the same type of torterous methods. A lot of humans were put through a lot of pain while working at the Black Alloy. There had been countless of humans that Anna saw in there that she always had to look away because of how much blood was spilt in that place. She had remembered seeing a few humans dangling by their skin on hooks, being forced to dance on the stage for the Decepticons no matter how much pain their were in. 

The upside about the Black Alloy, though, was the music that played there. Anna had grown quite fond of the Gothic rock or dark alternative music that was played at the Black Alloy. 

When it came to music for the Decepticons, they had not had music on their Planet before coming to Earth. So when they had their hostile take over of the entire Earth, they had been introduced to Earth's music. They had found music quite facinating and had decided to adopt the very entertainment as their own. 

Some Decepticons enjoyed the old classical music from Chopin, Beethovan, and all of the old artists of old. They found classical quite soothing. But most of the Decepticons simply adored the hard rock, goth rock, dark alternative, and even Death Metal. They enjoyed hearing the songs that dealt with death, darkness and all of that kind of things. 

So it was easy to say that when the Decepticons went through all of Earth's musicians, they completely destroyed all Country, Romance, Hip Hop, J-Pop, nearly all kinds of rock and especially opera. They killed millions of musical talents and kept a good deal of the dark musicians around. 

Insane Clown Posse, Marilyn Manson, D12, Rob Zombie and several others were still alive and kicking as musical slaves, though they were carefully watched by the Decepticons. There had been many times that some of the D12, ICP or even Rob Zombie had tried to kill their Decepticon masters so they wouldn't have to be slaves any more. Even Amy Lee and her band Evanesense was still alive somewhere. Though, it was a question of what they were doing. But a lot of the legendary musicians had been executed for not being liked by the Decepticons and it was a very sad, sad world that the humans lived in. 

Entering the night club was even worst. It was like a torture chamber all on its own. Anna couldn't help but make a face when she seen a human slave dancing on one of the stages with hooks and heavy chains hanging off her arms. She swallowed hard as she just sat on Starscream's shoulder, glancing around the night club at all of the dark fetish shit that happened all around her. 

But swallowing harder, she put on her stony look and looked forward with her master as he tromped past humans, who were quick to move out the way before they ended up getting squashed under the Seeker's large, heavy feet. 

Starscream was approaching another Seeker and a black and white Decepticon, which were enjoying cubes of Energon as they chatting about something. They stopped to look at Starscream and greeted him with sinister like grins. The human that was with the Seeker definitely had Anna's attention. She was just glad to see that he had come with his master after all. 

Pete was a Cajun, so he did have some dark tanned skin. He had unruly dark brown hair falling all around his face in waves and it made Anna's heart beat a little faster to see that his long bangs were falling across his ever so beautiful chocolate brown eyes. He had a body that clearly told her that he worked out a lot. It was probably the fact that his master was training him just like Starscream was doing for her. But it didn't help Anna's nerves that he was being trained for the Cyber Games. 

Tonight, Pete was wearing a deep blue mesh shirt and black jeans with old dog tags hanging around his neck. He sure looked good in a mesh shirt, and it made Anna's libido perk up a little, though she controlled it very well. She had learned that it was not smart to reveal that she physically wanted Pete. It would only mean serious trouble for both of him. 

"Starscream, it's about time you showed up. We were wondering if you were even coming." The other Seeker grunted with a grin. 

Anna's master snorted before sinking down on a large iron made chair and nodding to the Decepticon bartender behind the counter for an Energon cube. "Well, I told you that I was coming, Thundercracker." He grunted right back at the Seeker. He tilted his head towards Anna before offering his hand to her, which she was quick to stepping on. He just lowered her to the counter, where she sat down next to his arm, trying not to look over at Pete, who was watching her. "Not that I have to explain myself to you, but I had another engagement to deal with." Starscream finished, shooting Anna a dark look. 

Wincing, Anna just dipped her head down low before looking around the night club, trying to find something more interesting to look at besides Pete. 

"Oh, your human." The black and white Decepticon growled, shooting Anna a look with his fiery red glare. "Let me guess. You were training it again. I don't see why you're wasting your time on that pathetic creature. She's too scrawny for the Cyber games." 

Anna did everything she could not to flinch at the harshness of his words, but all she could do was lower her head even lower. 

Starscream, however, growled at the black and white, almost threateningly. "She's not for the Cyber games, Barricade! Quit thinking that she is!" He snapped. "It's those pitspawning Reavers! They're multiplying like cockroaches! If I don't train her, she'll just get herself in Primus saken trouble! It's more than likely that she'll get herself killed by the way she's been fighting though! She doesn't listen to me very well and always gets herself in a mess!" He shot Anna a look again, who couldn't stop that flinch and looked apologetically at her master. She did catch a dark look that Pete shot at Starscream but, luckily for his sake, none of the Decepticons noticed. 

Thundercracker just merely nodded as he finished his Energon cube before shoving the empty container away. "Ah, leave it alone, Barricade. It's not your business what Starscream does with his human pet anyway. Truth be told, it's a good idea that he's wasting his time on her. If he didn't, she'd just get caught by Reavers again and eaten alive. Damn, weak minded humans." He growled at the very thought in his processor. "I wish Lord Megatron would just make up his damn mind about destroying every last one of those Reavers." 

"He's sent out platoons to hunt them down but with those damn human resistence groups all over the damn place, it's not easy." Starscream said sourly. 

"Sounds like you're actually standing up for him." Barricade snorted. 

Starscream snarled at Barricade and shot him a very nasty look. "I am not! Shut the frag up, Cade!! That pitspawn leader of ours can rot for all I care! But it's the damn truth! Those damn human resistance groups are everywhere! But we don't know where to find them!" He snarled into his Energon cube. "Besides, I don't see you doing your damn job if you're here getting drunk off of Energon!" 

Barricade snarled right back but didn't respond as he would have. He hated it when anyone, more or less, Starscream pointed it out that he wasn't out patrolling for the human rebels. "I was ordered off duty, Starscream! I wouldn't be here if Megatron hadn't put that damn Dirge in charge of hunting the rebels down!" He snapped back. 

"Hey, hey! Screamer, Cade, don't be fighting right now, dammit." Thundercracker groaned loudly. "We came to Sideways' place to party, not argue about the damn human rebels. So let's drop it." 

Both Seeker and hunter shot each other another look but they nodded in agreement as they grabbed another Energon cube and started to engulf them. "Fine, Cracker." Starscream growled. "Besides, I don't want to hear too much right now." 

"Well, that's kind of too bad." Barricade said grumpily. "Because I do have some news. Seems to me that Lord Megatron's finally lost his damn human pet. You know, that one that he's always had around. Damn human somehow escaped." He snorted. "He's gonna be a dead one if Megatron gets him back." 

Starscream snorted and rolled his fiery red eyes. "Go figures. That human was always a smart one out of all of these dumb ones. Not to mention, Megatron can be dumb as a energy worm. It was only a matter of time before that damn human figured out a way to get away from him." He snickered, clearly amused by the news. 

"Masters Thundercracker and Starscream," Anna's head came up sharply when she heard Pete speak up. She looked to see him, bowing very low to the ground, with one arm crossed over his chest and his head down low. He was bowing to Thundercracker, of course. "Masters, may I ask for a leave? I would like to go dance among the other humans. And if it would be all right, may Anna come with me?" 

Anna had to hold her breath as she looked nervously up at Starscream, who was narrowing his eyes at him. She didn't like that look that he was giving her friend. But she knew that she couldn't say anything. 

"Peh! Damn human! Always asking for something." Thundercracker snapped before he jerked his head. "Fine! Go! Dance! But you better stay in my eyes view, Pete! If you once move out of my eye sight, I will whip you so bad, you're bumper's gonna be sore and then you'll train harder than ever!" 

Pete merely nodded before turning his head towards Starscream. "Master Starscream? May I.....?!" He was asking. 

Starscream growled viciously at him but he held the claws that he was so tempted of striking him with. "Fine! But if I so much as see you touch Anna in any intimate way, I'll have your fragging hands! And your master won't even be able to stop me!" He snapped before shooting Anna a look. "Go!" 

Anna quickly got to one knee and bowed low to him. "Thank you, my gracious Master." She said in a loud clear voice. 

"Heh! You bet your aft that I'm gracious! I didn't even want to bring you after your little stunt today!" The Seeker snapped, though Anna knew that was a lie. She knew very well that Starscream wouldn't have left her at home. He liked showing her off to all of his comrades, trying to prove the point that he had a good looking human slave. He even boasted that she might have been ugly in their eyes, but she sure as the Pit was better looking than most of the human slaves. 

Anna stood up with Pete and they both made their way to the human stair well to get to the dance floor. Neither one of them spoke as they walked away but they did spare each other a smirk to one another. They were just happy that their masters were too busy talking to each other about their own troubles. 

Once on the dance floor, still in their masters' sight line, both Anna and Pete turned to face one another before they began to sway to the Gothic music that was playing, along with several other humans on the floor who were entertaining their own masters. The two couldn't help but just look into one another's eyes as they began to dance to the dark rhythmn. 

"Anna, I've missed seeing you. I know it's only been a week since we seen each other, but it just feels too long." Pete managed to say over the loud music playing. 

Biting her lip and looking somewhat bashful, Anna glanced away from him as she bobbed her head to the music, bumping and grinding the air between her and Pete. She knew they had better be careful of how they were dancing because if Starscream or Thundercracker, or any Decepticon seen the attraction between each other, they would be in so much trouble. 

Of course, Anna didn't say anything and that caused Pete to frown as he ducked with the music so that he could look Anna right in the face. He gave her a curious look which she just smiled at him almost shyly. 

"I missed you too, Pete. I've been thinking about you all week." Anna finally said though she said it so quietly. 

Grinning, Pete looked excited to hear that. He moved somewhat closer to her but kept a good distance away from her as he looked her right in the eyes. "I've been worried about you since last week. How's it going with Ol' Screamer?" He asked her, his voice hardening a little. "Has he been mean to you?" 

Anna made a face at the sound of her master's name before rolling her eyes and shaking her head. "Not any more than he always has been. Training with him is getting a little hard. I had to face two Reavers today." She told him. 

Pete made a very disgruntled look. He hated the idea that Starscream was always making Anna face Reavers. He hated to think that she was always in danger while training against those things. They were too vicious and he couldn't ever imagine what would happen to her if she faced them. He always worried about her when she trained. He knew why Starscream was making her face them. The Seeker was doing it for two different reasons. 

One, because Anna needed to know how to defend herself against the Reavers for when she went on errands for her master. 

And two, because the Reavers were Anna's greatest fear. She was scared to death of them because of her last attack. 

Pete knew about her nightmares, of course. She had told him about how they haunted her now and then and it killed him to listen to the twinge of fear that was always on her breath. He didn't know how she managed to get some sleep from all of the nightmares she had of the Reavers but he could only imagine it was because of Judy or Jesse. He could never imagine that it was Starscream that was comforting her when she woke screaming. She had never really told Pete about that, just like Starscream had demanded her not to. 

Sighing heavily, Pete merely glanced towards their masters and saw that the two Seekers seemed to be arguing with Barricade. He seemed to have pissed Starscream off again. 

So carfully, he leaned closer to Anna so that he could talk to her only and not let anyone else here. "It's going to be okay, Anna. Someday, the DATAR is going to finally end it all with these things. One day, we'll be free and we finally can be together." He told her in a very low voice. 

"I hope so, Pete." Anna sighed right back to him as she danced several inches away from him. "I hope it's soon. Because I can't even imagine what will happen if it doesn't happen soon. I heard Starscream communicating with Thundercracker about how you're going to be entered in the Cyber Games in a few months. Pete, it scares me to think that you're going into it. What if you get killed?" 

Pete shared her sigh as he looked into her blue eyes. "I won't. I've been getting really good with my training. Besides, I don't plan entering at all. I've got a plan, Anna. I've been planning it for weeks now. I'm going to escape and I want you to come with me." He told her quietly. 

Anna's heart clenched in fear at the very thought. She was already seeing images of her mother's death flashing before her eyes and she couldn't help but shake her head. "Pete, are you crazy? You can't escape." She hissed at him as she glanced around, trying to make sure that no one else heard them. 

"Why not? Megatron's human slave did. Didn't you hear those two?" Pete asked, frowning at her. 

Sighing, Anna shook her head as she finally stopped swaying and just stood there with Pete, who also stopped. She could feel every hair on her arms standing up from the fear she felt within her thumping heart. She hated the idea of something happening to Pete. She swore that if anything happened to him, it would probably kill her. "Pete, you can't escape. What if you get caught while doing it? They will kill you." She told him. 

Pete shook his head as he started to raise his hand to touch her cheek but stopped himself in time. "I won't get caught, Anna. I promise. I've got a plan and it's going to work. I want to take you with me. Together, we'll escape and go find the DATAR. We'll be safe with them. We can help them fight these things and we can free Earth from them. Come with me, Anna. We can escape together and we’ll be free from all of this shit. We’ll be free to be together. We can fight with the DATAR and take down all of them.” He told her, aching to touch her face. “If Megatron’s slave could escape, I can’t see why we can’t.”

Anna seriously felt terrified that Pete was even mentioning it. Especially in a place like this. A place which was full of Decepticons that could possibly hear what they were saying and pick it up. She glanced around, hoping that none of them would hear Pete telling her things like this. She didn’t see anyone paying attention to them. It seemed that every Decepticon was busy socializing with each other or watching the torture that some of the humans were going through for their amusement. 

“Pete, please just be careful.” Anna said in such a low voice as she looked into his eyes. “If anything happens to you, if you……if you get caught, they will kill you.” 

Pete smiled faintly, his eyes quite heavy with some compassion he held for the quite beautiful blonde haired girl dancing just a few inches away from him. He could only shake his head as he dipped his head a little lower towards hers. “Nothing is going to happen, Anna. My plan will work. I know it will. Just you watch. By the end of the week, we will be free and we will be safe. We won’t have to hide our feelings from Starscream or Thundercracker any more. We can be us.” He whispered to her. 

His words felt more like a dream to Anna. She wished so desperately that it would happen. She would do anything, destroy any Decepticon just to make that dream into a reality. She wanted nothing more than to throw her arms around his neck and kiss him furiously just like the secret stolen kisses he would give her when there was no Decepticons around to see them. 

But she knew that if they risked a stolen kiss in the middle of the dance floor, a Decepticon would see and they would die. 

So Anna settled with a meek smile and a nod as she stared into Pete’s eyes. She didn’t quite agree with his idea of running away and joining the DATAR but it was something she desperately wanted to do. She really hoped that if they did decide to run away together, they would not get caught. It was only the thoughts of being caught that reminded her of what happened to her mother when she tried to steal her away from Starscream. It sent a chilling shiver through Anna’s very core to remember what Starscream had done to her mother. It only reminded her of the nightmares she frenquently got whenever she closed her eyes, when she was not dreaming of the sweet taste of freedom for all humans on the Planet Earth. 

It was a shame that prying eyes and ears had heard every word that Pete had said to Anna. A sly smile curved on the face etched in metal while blood red eyes narrowed in dangerous content of what the Decepticon had picked up on his receptors.


	4. Chapter Three

 

Things were the same as always. Anna was always training with Starscream. Anna was still going through the training process. For the next two days, the schedule was the same as always. Work, train, work, train. Nothing else really was different. It was the same old, same old. Anna continued to train with Starscream and was only doing slightly better. She faced only about one or two Reavers through the training but things always seemed to go wrong. It was her fear of the Reavers that clogged up her brain. She couldn’t help but cringe every time they came near her. And when things went wrong, Starscream was forced to step in again. It annoyed him to the extreme that he would make Anna do some hard chores. She had to clean his entire chamber alone, and that didn’t always seem to take forever to do. She did her normal chores as well. She helped Judy around the house that they stayed in, connected to Starscream’s barracks.

It didn’t bother Anna that much. She mostly daydreamed about Pete a lot. She daydreamed that they had ran away from their Decepticon Masters and joined DATAR. She really wished that would happen. She wanted so much to tell Judy and Jesse about their planned escape. She couldn’t bear the idea of leaving them behind to Starscream. She wanted them to go with her and Pete.  
But the problem was, if she told them about the escape idea, it would be more than likely that Starscream would overhear or find out about it and it would backfire on them. Starscream would find out and do who knew what and it made Anna shudder. She couldn’t even imagine how pissed he was going to be if he found out. She knew that he would be angry enough to probably even whip her this time. So, Anna did her best to not to tell Judy and Jesse about Pete’s plan to escape. 

But then again, it seemed that bad karma decided to bite her right in the butt. 

It was only a few short days since Anna had seen Pete and not a single hour had passed since he’d been on her mind. She continued to imagine think about him, trying not to sigh with the love she felt for him. She had been cleaning Starscream’s armor when there came a booming knock at the door. It was loud enough to make Anna jump and stop from her work. She had been scrubbing his wings clean when it happened. 

“Oh, for the name of Primus!” Starscream snarled in annoyance as he looked up from where he laid on his front. “Human female! Get the fragging door!” 

Somewhere from outside Starscream’s main quarters, Anna heard Judy yell, “My name is Judy!” 

Not being able to stop it, Anna snickered and shook her head as she went back to scrubbing Starscream’s wings. It was times like this did she enjoy being around Starscream. She loved the fact that Judy could yell right back at their master without getting into trouble. She was only glad he didn’t look angry when he attempted to shoot her a look for laughing. The amusement in his glaring red eyes gave it all away and she offered him a meek smile before continuing her work. 

Moments later, the door to Starscream’s chamber swung open with a loud bang, making Anna jump again and nearly slip right off Starscream’s wing. She yelped as she started to fall but she was thankful for her Master’s swift reflexes when he swung up his arm and let her fall onto it, using his other hand to steady her. 

But it was the Decepticon who had barged in that made her freeze in unease. 

The intruder was a Decepticon that Anna recognized as Dirge. She distinctively remembered him. He was not a very nice Decepticon at all. And that was saying something for all Decepticons weren’t nice. 

Dirge was looking around the room as if searching for something before his gaze fell onto Anna. Only then did he start glaring at her and his cannon whirled to life, looking ready to fire at her. But he only paused when Starscream reached up and covered the frightened Anna with his hand while glaring right back at his fellow Decepticon. 

“Dirge! What the frag are you doing here?!” Starscream demanded, not pushing himself up and holding Anna close to him.  
Dirge glowered back at him before he pointed at Anna with his cannon. “Your human is under arrest, Starscream. She needs to come with me. She’s to be taken to Lord Megatron for judgment and punishment.” He answered. 

For a good solid moment, Anna could have sworn that her heart had stopped beating as she felt her entire body went cold. She felt fear building up within her as she looked at Dirge with alarm. She didn’t understand what he was talking about. But it wasn’t long before a few possibilities popped up into her mind. 

But to her relief, Starscream twisted his body and her away from Dirge as if protecting her. He looked just as alarmed as she did but even more pissed at the sudden demand that his lower ranked officer was making. “What are the charges, Dirge?!” He merely snarled at the Decepticon. 

Dirge narrowed his red glare at Starscream but then shook his head, looking grave. He looked as if he didn’t tell the Seeker why he was there to arrest his slave. But he knew better than not to. “She’s under arrest for plotting to escape with another human slave.” He simply stated. 

Anna’s eyes could have not gone any wider than they were already. She felt her entire body freeze over as the horrifying realization hit her. She knew exactly what Dirge was talking about now. She knew what he was accusing her of. But how did he know?! How did he find out?! Had he been there, listening to her and Pete talking about escape?!

Anna’s heart skipped a beat again as she thought about Pete in horror. ‘Oh, gawd!’ She thought frantically. ‘Pete! What happened to Pete?!’ 

It took a half an hour to reach Megatron’s citadel. It was usually three hours away from where Starscream reigned over his own city but at the speed that the Seeker was going, it didn’t take long at all. He had been so angry right after Dirge made his accusation against Anna. He immediately told the other Decepticon that he would take her himself to see what the hell was going on.  
Of course, as soon as Dirge left, Starscream swung around to face Anna and demanded her of what he had been talking about. She had been too afraid to say anything other than, “I don’t know.” 

Luckily, Starscream left it at that. 

Megatron’s Citadel was enormous. It was the large Decepticon barracks out of all of them from around the world. It took up the entire city that used to be New York City. It was a very dark, twisted and nightmarish place to going to. But it matched the Decepticon Leader very well. 

Flying speedily through the large open doors of the citadel, Starscream transformed quickly, spitting Anna out into his hand before landing heavily in the enormous court yard designed by Megatron. It was of dark brown and black metal, twisting and turning like melted metal all around them. It was big enough to fit at least thirty Decepticons though.

At the front of the dark court yard, Megatron sat upon his dark throne, glaring directly at Starscream and Anna as they quickly approached. There were at least ten Decepticons within the room, excluding the Decepticon Leader. Near where he sat, Thundercracker stood, glaring down at his feet. 

There was Pete on his knees. He had chains tightly wrapped around his hands, making them turn red. He immediately looked directly at Anna with full of concern. He was obviously not worried about himself but for her. 

It clenched Anna’s heart to see him like that. She couldn’t believe that this was happening to them. She still wanted to know who had overheard them at the Black Alloy. 

“Starscream, hand over your human slave for judgment.” A Decepticon that Anna recognized as Obsidian ordered.  
The only answer he got from Starscream was a snarl before he glared up at Megatron, keeping a hold of Anna in his hand. “Who the frag accuses my slave of an escape plot?!” He demanded to know. 

Megatron growled back at him in annoyance but then he looked to the side at a Decepticon as he stepped forward. It was one called Dead End, a Spy Changer. “Dead End has come to me with the evidence of these two human slaves plotting to run away from you and Thundercracker.” He stated darkly. 

“I want to see this evidence!” Starscream demanded. 

Angry, Megatron shot to his feet and stomped forward but not close enough to strike his Second in Command like he looked like he wanted to. “Silence! How dare you demand me of anything, Starscream! You are trying my patience!” He snarled angrily before jabbing a claw towards Anna. “Hand over your human!” 

Starscream shook his head as he dipped his head a little lower. He pulled his hand with Anna closer to his body, as if refusing. “I will not hand my slave over until I see this evidence. I do not believe this accusation. All of my human slaves knows what would happen if they tried to run away from me! Anna, my human slave, has seen it happen beforehand to her despicable femme creator! She knows better!” He snarled. 

There was a very long unsettling silence as Megatron and his Second in Command glared at one another. Anna felt shame swelling up within her as she listened to what Starscream had said. Even if her life had been hard living with him, he was still looking after her. He was a harsh master but he was still protecting her from the other Decepticons. She could not help but feel shame well up inside of her. She felt so selfish at the moment for even discussing escape with Pete, no matter how much she wanted it. She felt ashamed for wanting to taste for freedom even after the protection that Starscream was providing for her. 

But even after that long moment of glaring, Megatron snorted before he nodded. “Does she really know better, Starscream? Fine. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.” He growled before motioning over to Dead End. “Dead End, replay what you have shown me.”  
Dead End just smirked directly at Starscream as he reached up and tapped his forehead. He did not look at all sympathetic for what shame was about to be brought upon the two Seekers. 

A beam of light shot out of his eyes and a holographic image of that night were displayed before all watching eyes. It was of Anna and Pete in the Black Alloy when they were dancing and talking with one another. And it had started right after Pete and Anna had talked about her training against Reavers with Starscream. It was of the entire conversation they had and shared. Especially the part where Pete had told Anna that after they escaped, they could be together and not hide their true feelings for one another. It ended when Starscream bellowed out at Anna to get back to him. 

Anna felt her heart clench in horror as she watched the report. She knew it was all over. She knew that she and Pete were in serious trouble. She knew that they had been caught. She saw it the very minute Starscream slowly turned his head and glared viciously at her. He looked like he wanted to throw her against the wall far across the court yard. 

“NO!! It wasn’t Anna’s idea!!” Pete suddenly yelled, making all eyes snap onto him. He was trying to stand up but it seemed that the chains were too heavy. So he settled with just being on his knees. “It was me! It was all me! It wasn’t her!” 

“SILENCE!” Megatron roared down at him, stomping heavily off the platform his throne sat. He looked ready to stomp on Pete, ending his life quickly. “Slaves do not have the right to speak in my court! You will shut your filthy mouth before I shut it for you!”  
Pete shot the Decepticon Leader the darkest look he could manage before shaking his head. “I have the right to defend myself!” He snapped. 

“NO, YOU DO NOT!!” Megatron roared down at him, looking ready to swing at him. “YOU ARE A SLAVE! SLAVES HAVE NO RIGHTS!”  
“Don’t punish Anna for what I was going to do! She didn’t even want to escape! She tried to talk me out of the idea!” Pete yelled right back, not looking the least bit afraid. “It was all me! Not her! I was going to steal her from Starscream! I just wanted to seduce her and get into her pants! It was nothing she did!” 

“Pete!” Anna cried out in alarm. 

But the look that Pete and Starscream gave her shut her up very quickly. She knew that Pete was mostly lying. She knew he was just trying to protect her from whatever punishment was about to be dished out onto her. She wanted to say something, anything to help Pete get out of this mess he was putting himself into. But the stern gaze that he was giving her kept her from saying anything. 

Slowly, Pete looked back up at Megatron. “I will take full responsibility for Starscream’s slave, my Lord! I will take her punishment as my own too! She should not be punished for something that she didn’t want. She knows better than to run away from him! She would never turn against her master! And Starscream knows that she’s too valuable to him! That’s why he defends his property!” He snapped.  
Glaring down at Pete, Megatron considered his words. He was actually listening to him. Eventually, he looked over at Starscream, meeting his glare. “Starscream, for the treason your slave would have pulled upon you, what would you have done to her as punishment?” he asked darkly. 

Giving Anna very cold look, Starscream shook his head. “I would have her whipped fifty times. The human slave speaks true. My slave is too valuable to me to kill. I have many uses for her.” He said very coldly. 

Anna felt her breath nearly suck right out of her body to hear that. She had never been beaten by Starscream before. But it sounded like it would have been her first time. But now, if Pete got his way, it was going to be him that was going to be whipped. “No.” She breathed in horror. 

But she was ignored. 

“Thundercracker,” Megatron growled, looking at the other Seeker as he glared hatefully down at his own slave. “What punishment would you have done to your human slave for his treachery?” He asked the other Seeker. 

Thundercracker continued to glare at Pete before shaking his head. “I would have done the same. If Pete was to plot escape, I would have him beat. But to conspire of stealing another of my aerial brother’s slaves, that is one crime that is too serious for a mere beating. After all that I have done for this miserable piece of flesh,” He snarled directly at Pete, shaking his head and looking quite sickened by his actions. “The worst punishment for him is to give him the beating belonging to Starscream’s slave and then put him to death in the Cyber Games. He will fight for his life in the games. And before he dies, he will get onto his fragging knees and beg me for forgiveness.” He said darkly. 

“NO!” Anna cried, tears now streaming down her cheeks. But she was once again ignored. 

Megatron nodded as he looked somewhat satisfied, looking from Anna to Pete then to Starscream. “Very well. The punishments are considered. Fifty whips from Starscream to the human known as Pete. He will wear no coverings. Since he wishes to take the punishment of his beloved femme.” He spat the very word like it was poison. “Then after the whippings, we shall see if this miserable fleshling can even live long enough to beg Thundercracker for forgiveness.” He motioned to both Starscream and Thundercracker. “Thundercracker, you will hold your human slave while Starscream takes his revenge against this thieving conspirator.”  
“NO!!” Anna screamed, now thrashing in Starscream’s hand. 

“Shut the frag up, Anna! You’ve brought this upon yourself!” Starscream snarled at her as he opened up his cockpit on his chest and tossed her inside, trapping her under the glass where she would watch. 

Thundercracker roughly grabbed Pete’s chains, hooking them with his claws before stretching him outward for Starscream. He used his other claws to rip all of the clothes right off Pete, leaving him stark naked and barebacked facing his Seeker Leader. He dropped the tattered clothes to the ground before wrapping his claws around his ankles to hold him still for the whippings. 

Starscream dropped his arm right beside him, letting twisted wires spill out from his palm. It looked more like a whip made out of braided metal than anything else. He ignored the screaming and crying that Anna was making as she pressed her hands against his glass, looking fearful for Pete’s sake. 

Pete did not look over his shoulder at Starscream but glared directly at his master. He was not going to take this beating with fear. He was going to stay strong no matter how much it was going to hurt. “Do your worst, you fragging robot.” He challenged Starscream. 

Snarling in rage, Starscream did. 

It took only five strikes of the wires to finally break Pete’s skin, making him start to bleed. But he did not mutter a word until Starscream finished with the twentieth strike. His blood was mixing with sweat, coating his entire naked frame and starting to burn. He could not stop the cry of pain from slipping past his lips as Starscream whipped him for the twenty-first time. It took only ten more whips to the back to make him start screaming in pain. 

And right with him, Anna screamed with tears running down her face, watching in horror of what her master was doing to the man she loved. She was forced to watch Pete getting shredded by Starscream’s wire whip. 

By the end of the beating, Pete’s entire back was nearly stripped of any skin, showing muscle through the thick blood running down his back. It was a miracle he was still alive. He was rapidly breathing and terribly bloody after Starscream got done with him. He couldn’t even stand up when Thundercracker set him down on the ground. He just doubled over into the puddle of his own blood, shaking violently. 

“Now,” Megatron remarked coolly but his vicious red eyes gleamed with dark amusement. “The human slave will see to the Cyber Games.” 

It was not even an hour later when all Decepticons gathered to the Cyber Games Arena, which took up half of the City that used to be Philadelphia. It was a massive arena made of dark metal, looking exactly like the Roman Coliseum. The stadium was flooded with cheers and cries of Decepticons and their humans who had gathered to watch this particular Cyber Game.

High above many heads, Anna was still trapped within Starscream’s cockpit, looking down into the large arena as Thundercracker pretty much tossed the bloodied Pete to the ground. She could barely see him from being so high like she was, but she could see him still doubled over, covered in his own blood after the beating her Master had given him. She had her hands pressed tightly against her mouth with tears streaming down her cheeks. She couldn’t believe this was happening. She was going to be forced to watch Pete fight to the death for wanting to run away with her. She watched as Thundercracker stepped backwards, away from his slave to watch from the side lines. 

After a little while of the loud buzzing noise of Decepticons, Megatron finally stood up and held up his hands for silence. It only took a moment to shut every Decepticon up and look up at their Leader. 

“Decepticons! We gather here to witness the punishment of Thundercracker’s human slave! He is to be punished for plotting escape and the theft of Starscream’s human slave!” There was an explosion of boos and screams of outrage from many Decepticons. “The human known as Pete will fight to the death for his disobedience! For if he does survive this Cyber Game, he may be awarded for his survival! Give this warning to all humans, though!” He looked darkly around at the many faces of human slaves in the arena with their masters. “You attempt what this miserable fleshling has attempted, this will be your fate! You will share the same punishment bestowed upon him! You will fight to the death in the Cyber Games!” He roared, earning cheers from Decepticons. He ignored them as he pointed a finger at Pete in the arena. “Slave! Get to your feet and fight! You have many weapons all around you! Entertain us, Decepticons, before you die! Let the Cyber Game begin!!” He looked towards the massive caged doors at the end of the arena. “Release the Reavers!” 

Anna’s eyes snapped wide open as she looked at the doors as they started to rise, allowing her own nightmarish creatures to run out into the large arena. There were ten of them. She felt her heart shattering to see them running around and looking around with confusion and rage. She couldn’t hear those terrible screams of insanity but she didn’t need to. Their sounds would forever be in her mind. 

Pete’s head snapped up when he heard the word, Reavers but he was quickly on his feet when he heard the screams that the Reavers made. 

As much pain as Pete was in, he forced himself to snatch up a jaggered piece of metal and start running away from the Reavers when they saw him and charged after him. They were upon him in moments and he was moving as fast as he could to hack and slash at them with his metal blade. Blood was flying everywhere from each slash he did to the Reavers. He mostly went for the throat where it was most vulnerable. 

But the pain in his back side was proving to be quite the task. 

Pete did not see the two Reavers coming up behind him and swipe at his back with their own bits of glass. Pete roared in pain as he leaped away from the Reavers before he threw the metal shard hard into one’s head. It killed the Reaver slowly but it did end him.  
Bolting from the middle of the remaining four Reavers he had yet to kill, Pete ran over to another weapon of choice lying on the sandy ground. He grabbed up a thick wooden bat with nails embedded in the wood. He was quick to swinging it around as the four Reavers tried to attack him. The bat and its nails sunk deep in one Reaver’s head, causing it to stick. 

Again, Pete had to abandon his weapon as he scampered for another. He was just about to grab up an axe when the remaining three Reavers were on him. 

The Reavers grabbed at him, throwing him hard to the ground before jumping on top of him. They were biting and clawing at him while he swung a fist and kicked out a foot. It had the Decepticons roaring and cheering as they watched this mess in dark glee.  
Anna could only watch with horror and through blurry eyes. She still had her hands pressed tightly against her mouth to keep herself from sobbing and screaming. She knew it was over. She knew that to be thrown to the ground and covered by Reavers, one’s life was gone. There was one Reaver on top of Pete, pinning him down while another was biting at his arm, trying to eat his flesh. The last was ripping at his pants so that he could thrust himself into Pete. She could not watch this. She could not watch Pete being eaten and raped to death. So she closed her eyes. 

But suddenly, there was startled exclaims by Decepticons and Starscream jerked as if he was surprised by something. Anna had no choice but to open her eyes and look to see what happened. 

Pete was up again, smashing a fist against the Reaver gnawing on his arm, possibly breaking his nose. He used his strength in his body to throw the other off of him before he lashed down and outward, grabbing a fist full of the assaulting Reaver’s balls, throwing his weight on top of him next. He used one hand to pin the insane man by the throat before he let out a yell of rage and yanked very hard, pulling back bloody gore in his hand. 

That Reaver screamed and writhed in pain as he slowly bled to death. 

But Pete ignored him as he kicked up sand as he got to his feet, snatching up the axe he had been going for. He looked around, covered in blood and sand before he eyed one of the Reavers charging at him to attack again. He swung the axe hard from the side until it slammed into the Reaver’s chest, throwing him hard backwards to die. 

The last Reaver was getting to his feet and making way to football tackle Pete next. But swinging the axe again, Pete brought it sharply down, slicing through the Reaver’s neck and lobbing off his head. 

There was a deafening silence as Decepticons stared with shock and awe on how much blood and gore that this single human slave had even brought to them. They watched as Pete bent over, using the axe to keep himself up and heave for breath. He was in pain and full of exhaustion after dealing with all of that. But even as the silence drew on, he lift his eyes up and glared directly at Megatron who looked down at him darkly but full of amusement. He obviously had been enjoying the slaughter. 

“Is…….Is th-that all you’ve got?! REAVERS?!” Pete bellowed up to Megatron’s private box. “Is that all……all that you have…..fo-for me?! Ho-how about a real challenge, you fu cking robot?!” 

Megatron snorted as he stood up from his dark chair and pointed directly at Thundercracker. “You want a real challenge, eh, human?” He called down to Pete. “Very well! You will fight to the death with your former Master! Thundercracker! Finish him!” He ordered.  
Thundercracker just nodded his head before he swung around and lumbered towards Pete, who did not look surprised or alarmed. He just glared up at his former master. He knew what was about to happen. He knew that it would be over very soon. “Bow to me, slave, before you die.” The Seeker rumbled gravely. 

Pete stood up straight, holding the bloody axe tightly in his hand. He continued to glare up at Thundercracker, still heaving for breath. “N-No. I will never bow to you again as long as I’m alive! If I die by your hands, I will die a free man!” He turned his eyes back up to the private box where Anna was trapped with Starscream. “Anna!” He called up to her. “No matter what happens! You better live! You better fight these fucking robots until they are all dead! I love you, Anna!” He yelled up to her. 

Anna could only sob as she looked down at him. She knew what was going to happen too. She knew it would all be over soon. 

“How touching.” Megatron said dryly, clearly not amused by the confessions of love between humans. He actually looked disgusted. “Thundercracker, finish it now! I grow tired of listening to this human monologue!” He called down to the Seeker. 

Thundercracker just nodded before looking down at Pete, almost amused. He rose an arm, getting ready to activate his cannon and end it all. He fired immediately, sending the blast flying at Pete. But before the blast could hit him, Pete threw himself side wards to avoid getting hit by it. He used the last bit of his strength to swing rapidly around in circles before letting go of the axe. 

The axe made a loud whooping sound as it flew through the air at Thundercracker. It was a very good throw too and would have hit the Seeker right in the chest plate, possibly killing him. 

But it was not hard for the Seeker to swing his arm and knock the axe to the ground. He only chuckled as he raised his other arm and shot off five rotating blades at Pete. 

This time, Pete could not avoid them. He had used the rest of his strength to throw the axe at Thundercracker. So he could not move out of the way as the five blades struck him in the shoulders, chest and legs. He hit the ground so hard, causing him to cry out in pain. Blood choked up out of his mouth as he coughed for air, choking on the blood coming up. He turned onto his side, crying out in pain from the blades and spat up blood from his insides. He panted heavily, just laying there for a moment before slowly forcing himself back to his feet and turning to glare at Thundercracker again. His vision was starting to darken but he blinked rapidly to keep it from going completely black. 

But instead of looking angry or annoyed, Thundercracker just smiled and shook his head as he took a few more steps forward. He actually looked amused by Pete’s actions, even as he raised his cannon and aimed at him. “It’s such a shame, Pete, that it had to come to this. You were my best slave. You were quite strong in will and physically. And you were stubborn as the Pits.” He chuckled, shaking his head. “If only the humans would have been more like you all those years ago. Before we took over this Planet. We, the Decepticons, would have lost this war for Earth if they had been as stubborn as you.” He told him with amusement. 

Pete gritted his teeth before he spat blood and spittle onto the sand. “Fuck you!” He snapped.

Thundercracker threw his head back and roared with laughter as if he found that the most hilarious thing he’d ever heard. He did not sound angry or anything. He actually did sound happy with Pete’s words. “You see! Stubborn as the Pits! Enjoy your life in the Matrix, Pete!” He laughed before firing his cannons. 

The blast sent Pete flying through the air once it hit him but his body never landed again. Instead, the intensive heat from Thundercracker’s cannon had incinerated his body into ashes. And the wind caught those ashes, sending them flying into sky.  
“PETE!!!” Anna screamed in horror grief after watching Pete’s demise. She was overwhelmed within seconds, falling into the pits of unconsciousness. She even missed Starscream starting to yell at her for screaming.


	5. Chapter Four

 

There was not a single word that could describe how Anna felt since Pete’s death. All she could feel was a dull numbing sensation running through her body and soul. She felt numbing pain throughout entire core as she laid in a fetal position in that hot, small room that Starscream had locked her up in. Her entire body ached, yet she couldn’t feel the burning in her back after her master had viciously whipped her the day before yesterday. 

Two days ago, right after Pete had been killed in the Cyber Games arena, Starscream had chained Anna up to a wall, completely naked before he began to whip her back. He lashed her only fifteen times with the same wires he had beaten Pete with. Even though she had screamed and cried as the sharp strings of metal struck her, she remembered hearing Judy yelling at Starscream to stop. She had been so angry with him for what he was doing to Anna. But he had ignored her until she wouldn’t stop screaming at him. He threatened to beat her next, clearly not in the mood to listen to her at the moment. 

It actually took Anna weakly begging Judy to not say anything any more. She did not want to see the kind and loving woman get beaten like she was getting right now. It also took Jesse holding Judy and trying to comfort her as both of them cried outside the door, listening to Anna scream in pain as Starscream whipped her. 

After that, Starscream was put into the room she hated so much and was stuck there for the last two days. She was only allowed to drink water and eat nothing else. It was apart of her punishment for what she had nearly done. It wasn’t like Anna really cared. She mostly stared at the wall, curled up. She didn’t sleep very much, too afraid of what nightmares would come out of the darkness of her mind. It wasn’t like she was suffering from it already. She couldn’t stop thinking about Pete’s death. She kept reliving it every moment while she was in that room. She cried to herself for hours until she couldn’t spare any more tears. 

There was not a single word for the pain that Anna felt. 

Once in a while, Judy and Jess would come into the room, bringing her water and putting cold wet rags soaked in antiseptic for her back. They tried to speak to her but she would not speak at all. She just stared absentmindedly at the wall. They kept trying to get her to talk to them about what happened but she couldn’t. She would start to sob again and it was the worst sound that Judy and Jesse had ever seen or heard. 

At the most part, Starscream was angry enough to ignore her after she was let out of the room. He mostly barked at Judy to give her chores to do, not wanting to even talk to her. The only thing he ever told Anna before giving her the cold shoulder was that she was never allowed to leave his barracks again. He even went out by himself, refusing to take Jesse or Judy with him. He was just so angry at Anna for her ‘betrayal’. He wouldn’t even train her any more. He refused to let her learn how to fight after what she had done.  
It wasn’t like Anna cared. She was almost like a mindless drone around the house as it was. She did her work, of course. But she did it without saying a word. And it so did not help that her back was still aching after being beaten by Starscream. It was very quiet around the barracks without her saying a word. 

Eventually, word had come to Starscream’s about the war with the human rebellions. It seemed that the human rebels, DATAR had heard about the scene at the Cyber Games Arena and it really pissed them off. They began to openly attack the Energon Factories and even set bombs all over the Cyber Games Arena, blowing it up half way. 

So the Cyber Games were postponed until the Arena was repaired. 

For the first time in two days since Pete’s death, Anna could not stop the smirk spreading out on her face after hearing what DATAR did to the arena. It felt like the human rebels had wrecked revenge for her, for Pete. She also figured out why DATAR was attacking the Energon Factories. She realized that DATAR was trying to starve out the Decepticons. No food, no more use being on Earth. They were trying to drive the alien robots away by making them go hungry. 

It sure pissed off the Decepticons, though. Anna heard Starscream talking to Thundercracker and their third wheel, Skywarp about it. She had been in the kitchenette, helping Judy clean it. The three Seekers were sitting around in the lounge, drinking Energon while talking about the new situation. 

“Fragging humans!” Starscream snarled as he slammed a cube of Energon onto the counter. “Are they so desperate to dying?! How dare they touch our Energon Factories!” 

Thundercracker shook his head, eyeing his fellow Seeker. He was not any happier than Starscream was. “They’ll learn their lesson soon enough, Starscream. They’ll learn not to mess around with Energon when we finally find them. I hear that Megatron’s sending out everyone to hunt them down now. No one’s to do anything other than searching this pathetic mudball for those human rebels. And when we find ‘em, they’re sure going to be sorry for defying us. I heard that we’re to start attacking many possible areas where they humans are hiding. The Predacons are getting sent out to prowl the air and land. Soundwave’s bird brains, Laserbeak and Buzzsaw are mostly patrolling the mountain regions while Ravage is searching the plains. I hear that even Scorponok is underground looking for them under our feet.” He shook his head, growling a little at the thought. “It won’t be long now before we find those disgusting humans!” 

“I heard the Megatron has something special planned for them.” Skywarp spoke up as he enjoyed his own Energon cube. “I heard that he’s planning on shooting them off into space once we catch them so they can die slowly and painfully.” 

Starscream nodded as he looked at Skywarp. “That’s what he has planned.” He snorted loudly as if thinking of something dastardly funny. “Too bad we can’t just do that to all of these pathetic humans. It would save us a whole lot of trouble from backstabbing, betraying slaves!” He snarled it as if knowing that Anna was listening. 

Wincing, Anna quickly went back to cleaning the kitchenette floor, yet still kept listening. 

“Peh! No way! I like having human slaves. They can just die the usual way. Slaving away for us.” Thundercracker chuckled. “We can deal with betraying slaves the same way as we always do. Kill them in the Cyber Games. Once that slagging Arena is fixed, of course.” He snorted as if thinking of something. “At least it’s weak, stupid humans we get to deal with. I’d deal with those human rebels more than those goody-goody Autoscums any day. It’s good thing they’re not around here. They’d be some real trouble to have around. Then we’d have to deal with them and the human rebels.” He remarked. 

A light bulb suddenly turned on in Anna’s head as she turned her head to listen better. She wasn’t sure what an Autoscum was. She had never heard of them before. None of the Decepticons had ever spoken about troublesome creatures before. So who were these Autoscum that Thundercracker was talking about?

“Heh!” Starscream barked with laughter within the next room. “Don’t worry about them, ‘Cracker. We haven’t seen a single one for almost twenty years since that stupid scout was taken out by the humans. Lucky for us. If that little insect would have sent out a transmission to those good goodies, then we’d be in a real mess. Luckily for us and unluckily for these fragging humans, they didn’t have a single clue that he was actually here to help them.” He laughed sharply. “The other Autoscums won’t even know where to find him because the humans dealt with him. They must be clear across Space trying to find out where we’re at. Them and that fragging Prime of theirs.” 

“Idiots.” Skywarp laughed sharply. “It’ll take a long time before they find us.” 

“Gotta point there.” Thundercracker snorted into his Energon cube. “Without them knowing where we are, it’ll be like looking for a needle in haystack. 

It was at that very moment, Anna knew what she had to do. Just by listening to the Decepticons, she knew that these strange…..Autoscums made them nervous. They didn’t want these Autoscums to find out where they were. She wasn’t sure what kind of beings the Autoscums were, but if they made the Decepticons nervous, then she believed she wanted to deal with them instead of the Decepticons. She knew that she had to draw the Autoscums to Earth somehow. If they were the Decepticons’ enemies, they might be able to help Earth. They could save them, the humans. She knew that Earth would need these……Autoscums’ help to getting rid of the Decepticons. 

And Anna had a pretty good idea of how to do it. 

“Jesse!” Anna called to her friend as soon as she found her working in the yard where Judy kept a garden. 

Jesse had jumped at the sound of Anna’s voice. She had not been expecting to hear for her for a long time after what happened to Pete. She had thought that Anna would not speak for days on to come. But here she was. She was talking to her. So, she couldn’t help but gape at her friend with alarm as she hurried right up to her. “So, you’re talking again?” She asked Anna skeptically.  
Anna made a face at her, but didn’t blame her for asking it like the way she just did. She knew that Jesse would be a little skeptic after she had spent two days ignoring her in her grieving period. Hell, she was still grieving for Pete. But the idea that Starscream, Thundercracker and Skywarp had given her seemed more important than anything right now. 

“Jesse, I need your help with something. I need you to distract Starscream tonight for at least a half an hour.” 

Now, Jesse looked at her with serious suspicion. She knew immediately that Anna was up to something. And when Anna was up to something, it usually wasn’t a good thing. “Why?” She asked, not hiding her suspicion for one second. 

Anna shook her head as she made a face. She didn’t think it would be a good idea telling Jesse about what she had planned. She didn’t want Starscream to find out about it at all. “It’s better if you don’t know. I’m doing something really crazy and it’s really important that Starscream doesn’t find out……” She was saying. 

“Uh-uh! No way, Jose! Forget it, Chica! I ain’t helping you run away! Ya going to get caught and I don’t want to be any part of it! I don’t want to see you get…….!” Jesse was saying, folding her arms stubbornly. 

Looking at her with impatience, Anna shook her head as she made a face at her. “No! Not that crazy! I so don’t want to get whipped again! My back still hurts!” She scowled at her friend. She heaved a sigh and shook her head. “Come on, Jesse. Please, just trust me. It’s really, really important. I just need you and maybe Judy to distract Starscream for a half an hour only. I swear!” She told her.  
Jesse made a face but slowly shook her head. She so didn’t like this. She didn’t want to see Anna do something stupid and get punished by their Decepticon master later on. And she certainly wasn’t going to do it without knowing what it was that Anna was doing first. “You better tell me, Anna, what you’re doing. Because I ain’t helping you until you tell me.” She warned her friend. 

“Jesse.” Anna sighed wearily. 

“I mean it! I ain’t doing anything until you tell me what you’re doing!” Jesse warned her a second time. 

Again, Anna sighed before she glanced around over her shoulder. She could still hear Starscream talking with his two Seeker brothers and it seemed like they would be do that for a while now. So they shouldn’t over hear her. But then again, that’s what she had thought while talking to Pete. She grabbed her friend’s arm and quickly lead her away from the room where the three Seekers were at.  
“Okay, okay.” Anna sighed again as she leaned her head awfully close to Jesse’s, who was listening inattentively. “Starscream, Thundercracker and Skywarp were just talking about the DATAR just now. They said that Megatron is planning on finding them and destroying them once for all. He’s planning on capturing all of them and sending them into space so they could suffocate and such.” She told her quietly. 

“Ye-ah. Good luck with that. The DATAR has been annoying the Decepticons for about fifteen years now. So what?” Jesse asked sarcastically. 

Anna gave her an impatient look but shook her head as she glanced over her shoulder as if expecting Starscream to show up any second. She still could hear him talking loudly to Thundercracker though. “Okay. Thundercracker then mentioned something about their enemies. They have some kind of alien enemies called the Autoscum. He said something about how they don’t know where the Decepticons are and how much trouble they would bring to their campaign on Earth. He said that the Decepticons don’t want these……these Auto-aliens coming to Earth.” She gave Jesse a very bold look. ‘Well, I’m going to bring them to Earth.” She told her quietly. 

“WHAT?!” Jesse squealed before stopping when Anna shushed her and threw a hand over her mouth. She quickly peeled her hand off her mouth before lowering her voice. “What? Are you serious, Anna? Have you seriously lost your mind? How do you think you’re going to do that? What if Master Starscream and Masters Thundercracker and Skywarp were joking? How do you know that these Auto-aliens even exist?!” 

Anna made a face at her again before shaking her head. “I don’t know if they truly exist, Jesse. But we have to do something! We’re fragging slaves! We’re being forced to work for a bunch of psychopathic alien robots that threaten our very lives if we don’t do what they say! I don’t WANT to be a slave any more, Jesse! Do you?! Do you want to live the rest of your life, slaving away from Starscream?!” She hissed in a very quiet tone. 

“Well…….no.” Jesse muttered. 

“Well, neither do I.” Anna told her, shaking her head again. “If there are more aliens out there in Outer Space, I’m going to bring them here. They might be able to help us. But to do that, I need you to distract Starscream. Get Judy to yell at him for a half an hour. I need to use his Communications system in his room. That’s the only way to even send out messages. Otherwise, it would go straight to that Communications Decepticon, Soundwave and then we are dead.” She blew out a low sigh and looked right into Jesse’s eyes. “I have to send out an SOS out to these Auto-aliens, Jesse. I can’t just sit around, slaving away and working my life away for Starscream any more. These Auto-aliens made Starscream, Thundercracker and Skywarp nervous just by talking about them. If they can make them nervous, then surely they made Megatron uneasy. And if they come here to fight the Decepticons, then maybe, just maybe it’s the answer that we need.” 

Slowly shaking her head, Jesse heaved a huge weary sigh. She honestly couldn’t believe a word of it. It sounded way too good to be true. “But how do you know, Chica? How do you know that these Auto-aliens, even if they do exist, aren’t worst than the Decepticons? How do you now they will help us?” She asked, not being able to hide the nervousness in her tone. 

“Just trust me, Jesse.” Anna said, trying to give her a smile. “There’s no way that they can be worst than the Decepticons. The Decepticons made us into slaves and beat us, and make us do things we don’t want to do. If the Auto-aliens are worst, the only thing they can do to us is not turn us into slaves but just annihilate us. I’d rather die than be a slave any more.” She then grasped Jesse’s hands, holding them tightly. “Please, please, please, Jesse. Help me with this. Please.” 

Muttering curse words in Spanish, Jesse rolled her eyes wearily before shaking her head. “Aye, aye, aye. I can’t believe I’m doing this.” She groaned. She hated this. She wished she could just say no to Anna. But she honestly couldn’t. She knew that with or without her help, Anna would still do it. And without her help, she would get caught by Starscream and probably beaten again, possibly killed. "Fine. I’ll do it. But you better be right about this, Anna. If these Auto-aliens come to Earth and they are worst than the Decepticons, I’m gonna kill you!” She told her friend. 

Smiling faintly, Anna shook her head. “Trust me, Jesse. If they’re like the Decepticons or worst than them, I’ll kill myself. Thank you so much, Jesse.” She told her before she hurried off to prepare her words she was going to put into the SOS. 

That night, Jesse did as Anna had asked her to. She hadn’t made it clear to Judy what Anna was doing but she did get her to nag at Starscream that night. Judy had given her a wry look but agreed to do it. She went straight to him and began nagging about the dumbest things. 

Now, they were yelling at each other. 

Anna quickly dashed out of her room and hurried down the hall to where Starscream usually recharged to use his Communications system. She had quite the time to climbing up to the large keyboard protruding from the wall about ten feet up above her own head. But once she got up there, she made a face as she eyed the large keyboard with Cybertronian symbols all over it. Not that all of the keys being in Cybertronian was going to be a problem. She had learned a long time ago how to read, write and even speak Cybertronian. Starscream had made her learn the Decepticons’ native language. 

It was the size of the keyboard that was going to get to her. 

Not more than five minutes later, Anna had the large Cybertronian computer up and going before she had to figure out how to activate the message program. 

But when she finally had it up and ready, Anna felt a wave of apprehension run through her. She wondered if this idea was even a good idea. What if Jesse was right about the Auto-aliens? What if they didn’t exist? What if they did and they were just as bad as the Decepticons? What if they were worst and they just wanted to wipe out the entire humankind? 

There was really only one way to find out if any of that were true and that was to give it a try. 

So taking a deep breath, Anna turned her eyes up to the large vidscreen and began. “In the year of 2007, exact day unknown, there was an attack on a US Military Forward Operations base in Qatar and that was where it all started. In the beginning……..” 

And the message went on for a good solid twenty minutes. 

After twenty minutes of explaining Earth’s situation in the SOS message, Anna felt herself starting to break down as she tried to finish her message to send to the Auto-aliens. She felt herself putting all of her hope and prayers into the message, praying that they would have mercy on the mankind of Earth. “……My name is Annabelle May Lennox. Slave of the Second In Command Decepticon, Starscream. Please! Save us!” And she finished. 

“ANNA!!!!” 

Anna felt as if she jumped right out of her skin when she heard Starscream yelling at her. She could have sworn that her heart stopped right then and there. She felt all of the blood within her body just freeze cold as she whirled around to look at the door before she quickly sent the message off and rapidly shut down the computer system. She prayed that he didn’t know about her SOS message. She hadn’t even sent it before he started yelling at her. She hoped that he hadn’t somehow heard her. And even if he did, she still sent it off. 

Even if Starscream had found out about it, she sent it off to the Auto-aliens with the hope that they would come and help the Earth, even if she wasn’t in it. 

Her heart pounding, Anna quickly climbed down to the floor and ran out of Starscream’s room as fast as she could. She felt all of her fear bashing against her insides as she thought about what was about to happen to her. She couldn’t stop herself from twiddling her fingers together with nervousness as she found Starscream barely marching out of the lounge, still yelling for her. 

“Um…..ye-yes, Master Starscream?” She winced as her voice squeaked with fear. 

“What the frag do you think you’re doing?!” Starscream roared at her furiously, making her heart thud harder against her chest. She just cringed under his aggravation and waited for the sudden punishment for what she had just done. “Didn’t I tell you to clean the yard?!”  
Blinking in sudden surprise, Anna found herself way too bewildered to answer for a few moments before she shook her head. “Um…..no. Yo-you di-didn’t.” She told him timidly. 

For a few moments, Starscream glared down at her before he blinked several times. It was like he was thinking about it before he scoffed loudly and began cursing in Cybertronian. “Slag. That’s right. I told Jesse to do it.” He then turned sharply, stomping away from Anna. “JESSE!!!! Come here, stupid human girl!!!” 

Relief flooded through Anna as she realized that she had not been caught. She knew she was in the safe zone for now. All she could do for now was keep hiding it from Starscream and hope that the so called Autoscum got her SOS and hoped that they would have mercy on the humankind. She just prayed that they weren’t like the Decepticons. Moments after dealing with Starscream, Jesse hurried into the room, looking highly concerned. She eyed Anna as if asking her what happened but the other girl just shook her head and held up an OK sign with her hand. Only then did Jesse sigh with relief and moved on to do what she had been told to do.

Late that night, Anna stared up at the night sky, looking up at the stars as she thought about what she had done. She still felt grief running through her as she thought about Pete. She wished that he was there. She wished that he would be there with her, watching as a possible future came their way. She mostly wished that she could have a future with him. But most of all, Anna wished that she could have revenge on the Decepticons for murdering Pete. If she ever got the chance, she would extract her revenge and killing them for what they had done to him. She could make Megatron and Starscream pay. She would kill Thundercracker for what he had done. She swore her very life on it. She would help destroy all of them. 

And she prayed that the so called Autoscum or Auto-aliens, or whatever they were really called would help her do it.


	6. Chapter Five

 

After a few nerve-racking days, Anna continued to hold her breath and wait for her to get caught for sending out an SOS out into space, hoping that the Autoscum or Auto-aliens to find it. She had been expecting to be found out immediately and punished, or worst. 

But so far, so good. 

Anna and Jesse kept quiet about the whole ordeal, even after Judy tried to pry about why she had to yell at Starscream for a half an hour. They wouldn’t tell her what they had done for her own safety and Anna had to beg Judy to stop asking. The oldest woman just huffed and threw her hands into the air before she went back to making lunch for them. She continued to mutter to herself about all of it. Anna and Jesse ignored her as they continued to cross their fingers and hope that they would never be found out. They were just waiting second by second, minute by minute and hour by hour for Starscream to start screaming and hollering at them for their insubordination and probably kill them. 

It did not happen for several days to come. 

At the most part, Starscream only complained loudly about the human rebels. The attacks were growing more frequent. It was like the DATAR had found out about Megatron’s plan for them and they were challenging him and the Decepticons to even try it. They were definitely getting bolder with their attacks. They kept blowing up Energon Factories, trying to piss the Decepticons off even more.  
Anna was secretly cheering the DATAR on for what they were doing. She knew that it just had to be the Legendary Leaders, Will and Epps that was the source of all of the attacks. She knew that they must have been clever enough to think of attacking the Energon Factories. She only wished that she could find a way to escape and join them in the fight. She dreamed about it all of her life and still dreamed about it now. She would give anything to just to be able to fight right beside both of them and take out these miserable Decepticons for good. But alas, they were only dreams and dreams were very short nowadays. The Decepticons continued to rip dreams and hopes apart for the human kind. 

As it was, there was a lot of talk about Megatron’s missing slave. There was still no sign of him anywhere and Anna was sure that he must have been picked up by DATAR by now. He had completely disappeared off the radar. And it was pissing Megatron, severely. He was now having all Decepticons out, scouring the world for the human rebels and his runaway slave. 

But so far, they couldn’t find him. 

There were even reports of more Reaver attacks. Some of them were even close to where Starscream’s place was and it made all three women very nervous. Especially the part where some of the Reavers were finding ways of breaking into buildings and raiding them. Many people had been killed and eaten by them. It made Anna, Jesse and Judy worry about the Reavers being stupid enough to break into Starscream’s to attack them. That is, if they were dumb enough to do it. But it still worried them to think about it if Starscream wasn’t home. He had begun to patrol his city that he reigned over to look for Reavers, the DATAR or Megatron’s missing slave. He left Judy in charge, of course. But it still worried them. 

Eventually, Starscream did get called away to a Decepticon Meeting. 

Due to some of the Decepticons always taking a slave with them to these meetings, to serve them while listening to Megatron rant and rave about who knew what, Starscream decided to take Jesse with him. He was still very angry with Anna for her ‘betrayal’ and he made it very clear that he still wouldn’t let her leave his barracks at all. He basically told Anna and Judy to go about their usual chores or whatever. He didn’t care what they did right at the moment. Just as long as they didn’t leave the barracks or the house that was connected to his place. 

So while, Starscream and Jesse were out, Anna and Judy decided to repair some of their clothes that were starting to get a little tattered from their lives into slavery. 

For the most part, neither spoke to one another. They only worked on fixing tears and rips or sew buttons back onto the clothes. Anna was thinking about Pete again and it hurting her very soul to remember how he died. She didn’t even realize that she started crying until Judy held out a handkerchief to her. 

“You know, before all of this happened, before I became a slave, I was once married to a wonderful man.” Judy spoke up. 

Anna blinked in surprise at her as she took the hanky from her and wiped her wet cheeks. She hadn’t expected anything like that. She had been sure that Judy had once been married, seeing that she still wore a wedding band on her left ring finger. But she had not ever knew anything about Judy’s past. They didn’t tend to talk about the past too much. It was just too painful. 

“Oh? Really?” Anna asked as she set the hanky to the side and went back to sewing buttons back onto the shirt she was working on.  
Judy just nodded as she continued to sew up a tear in one of Jesse’s shirts. “His name was Ron. We were married for about twenty-five years before he was killed by a Decepticon.” She smiled faintly at the saddened look on Anna’s face. She just waved her hand with the needle as if brushing off Anna’s sadness. “Don’t look so sad about him, Anna. He’s better off than where we are. Ron died doing what he thought was right. He was trying to protect me and my son from the Decepticon, Barricade. He was the last person you would ever see try and fight. But he did it.” She told her. 

Curious, Anna tilted her head to the side. She was surprised to hear the fact that Judy had a son. She had never mentioned a son before. But then again, once again, she didn’t know too much about the woman. “You….you had a son?” She asked a little astonished. 

“I have a son.” Judy reassured her gently as she pointed the needle towards her. “Sam isn’t dead, Anna. I might have not heard from him or seen him in a few years but I know for certain that he’s okay. He wasn’t always a tough boy in his childhood. He was one of those boys who would fall down and scrape his knees and then come crying to me to kiss his boo-boos better.” She laughed with Anna at the very though. But she shook her head with a faint smile. “But after all of this, the things with the Decepticons and his very first car being an alien robot, he sure got stronger. Sam became very strong willed and brave.” 

Again, Anna looked at her curiously. She was definitely intrigued to hear the part about Judy’s son, Sam having an alien robot as a car. But she was more interested into knowing how Judy knew that Sam was still alive. “But how do you know that he’s still alive? What if he’s dead…..?” She was asking. 

Judy shook her head as she looked at the younger woman. “It’s mother’s instincts. There is a bond between mother and child that no one, not even these blasted Decepticons can break. Mothers usually always knows when there’s something wrong with their child. It’s all in their heart. And my heart tells me that Sam is alive and he’s doing just fine.” She then got a very coy smile on her face. “Plus, I knew where he was at, even after we got separated after I was bought by Starscream. He was Megatron’s slave.” She said coyly.  
A breath caught in Anna’s throat as she looked at Judy with wide eyes. She could only imagine what slave that she was talking about. She couldn’t help but put the shirt down on her lap and lean towards Judy. “What?! The one who got away? The one that Megatron’s going through hell for? But how…..?” She was asking. 

“Sam and I were together at the time when we were going through the slave traders.” Judy explained without even looking at her. “I was bought by Starscream. And Sam was taken by Megatron. It was for a reason too. In fact,” She finally turned her watery blue eyes onto Anna, making a face. “Sam was actually the very first one, other than all of those American soldiers all those years ago, that met the Decepticons. He told me and Ron about them right after Barricade tried to attack him for his Great, Great Grandfather’s stupid glasses.”

“Huh?” Anna asked rightfully dumbfounded. “Barricade. Was. After. Glasses?” 

Judy snickered and nodded. “Yeah. It’s a long story but to make it short, apparently Ron’s Great Grandfather was the first human ever to find a Decepticon on Earth. Megatron, as it so happens, had come to Earth centuries ago, looking for that All Spark thingy. He crash landed on Earth in the Artic Circle and froze into Stasis there. Great, Great Grandfather Archibald found him and somehow some strange directions were imprinted on his glasses. Fifty years later, the American Government found Megatron and kept him frozen in their basement. And then the Decepticons came for him and the directions to the All Spark. And that’s how this whole mess started.” 

“And…..you said that Sam’s car was an alien robot? Who was it, Barricade?” Anna asked curiously. 

Shaking her head, Judy looked just as confused as she did as she tried to think about it. “I have no idea who that one was. Sam was seventeen years old and he was looking to buy his first car. Ron, of course, had to be a cheapo and took him to buy a car at a very bad and used car shop. That’s where Sam got his alien robot car. It was some kind of…..” She scratched her head, making a face. “I think it was a 1967 Chevy Camaro. Yellow and black. Sam was happy enough with it, though he really wanted a Porsche. But apparently, some time after that, he started ranting and raving about how it was an alien robot. Ron and I didn’t believe him until Barricade nearly blew up our house to get to Sam and the glasses. That robot of Sam’s though,” She made a wide eyed look as she looked at Anna. “That thing stood right up and tried to protect us. If it was a Decepticon, it sure didn’t like the other Decepticons. And it surely didn’t like Barricade. They had a royal rumble against one another and tore up the streets. Sam’s robot won. He was a really tough little thing. But then some Government people came right up to us and attacked it. They took him out and tried to arrest Ron, me and Sam.” Her face turned grave after that. “But that’s when the Decepticons began attacking everywhere. And well…….you know the rest of the story.” 

Anna slowly nodded. She knew the story all right. But her mind was definitely on Judy’s son’s robot. If it had fought against Barricade, it must have been one of those Auto-aliens. It just had to be the Auto-alien scout that Starscream, Thundercracker and Skywarp had been talking about before giving her the idea of sending out an SOS. But the question she really wanted to ask was what became of the Auto-alien? What did the American Government do to it? 

“Well anyway, the Decepticons took over, Ron had died protecting me and Sam, I was bought by Starscream and Sam was taken by Megatron.” Judy went on, forcing Anna’s attention back onto her. “After we were forced our separate ways, I never really seen Sam again. But, now and then I would hear Starscream talk about him. He was always talking about Sammy being Megatron’s slave and everything. He really wanted to possess Sam, himself. But you know how he is around Megatron?” She shook her head as she looked at Anna. “Besides, do you remember Sparkplug?” 

Surprised, Anna nodded. How could she forget Sparkplug? He had saved her life from Reavers and died for her. 

“Well, Sparkplug was really my Brother-In-Law. Ron’s older brother. Before you, he was Starscream’s favorite and he would take him places.” Judy explained. “Well, he claimed that he saw Sam a few times at the Decepticon meetings. He began passing messages back and forth between me and Sam. So that’s how I know that Sam was Megatron’s slave. How do I know that he was the one that had escaped? Well, Megatron didn’t care for humans. He hated them with all of his Spark. He had only ONE slave and that was my Sammy. So that’s why he’s throwing a huge hissy fit about Sam escaping from him.”

Smiling faintly, Anna had to admit. Sam must have been either nuts or extremely brave to escape from Megatron. But she didn’t blame him. Any one that was that big aftpipe’s slave must have been desperate to get away from him. She really hoped that Judy would get to see her son again. She promised herself that she would do everything in her power to reunite mother and son again. She would help her get Sam back. 

But that’s when everything went wrong. 

The lights in the entire house began to flicker before they suddenly went out. Both Anna and Judy jumped in alarm and looked around. There wasn’t a storm outside, not that they could hear. 

“Oh, bother! What is it now?” Judy groaned as she put her work to the side and tried to stand up. 

But Anna beat her to it. She stood up, making her way to the closet to find a flashlight. “Don’t get up, Judy. I’ll check it out. It’s probably just the power generator. It must have shorted out.” She told her as she pulled out a flashlight and flicked it on.  
Judy made a face at her from the dark before shaking her head. “Anna, you know you’re not suppose to go outside.” She warned her. 

“Yeah, yeah. I know. But I’m just going to go check the generator. I’m not going to run away or anything. I’d rather not get beaten again by Master Starscream.” She said the word master very sarcastically. She went over to the door and unlocked it, going outside.  
It was rather cold that night. There were dark clouds looming in the night sky, proving that there might be a storm coming their way after all. The air also smelled of rain so it wouldn’t be long before it did start coming down. Still, Anna had to get the generator back up and running so they could have power. 

Going along the building, Anna made her way towards the corner, where the power generator usually was kept. She couldn’t help but glance around the darkness, making goose-bumps rise on her arms. She hated the darkness. She never knew what was creeping around. Especially when there were suppose to be Reavers prowling around Starscream’s city. She snorted at the idea. ‘They sure picked the wrong city to try and raid, though. When Starscream finds them, they’re going to be very sorry for coming here.’ She thought. 

A certain item on the ground caught Anna’s attention, making her bend down and pick it up. It was a small hand shovel. It was not even close to being a weapon but the tip was a little sharp. She figured that she could use it if she did see a Reaver. It would be sharp enough to slam up into a Reaver’s throat. She shrugged, holding the flashlight and the shovel tight in her hand as she walked straight to the corner where the power generator sat. 

But seeing the state that it was in now, Anna froze and stared at it with alarm. 

The power generator was smoking from where someone had taken something very heavy or very hard to it. It was badly damaged from being smashed. Someone had destroyed it. Sparks were flaring right out of the large gray box of metal, threatening Anna to come closer and get zapped. 

“What the hell?” Anna hissed as she hurried closer to examine it. She looked it over, noting the heavy damage. There was no way she would be able to touch it and get it up and running again. “What the hell happened to you? What did this to you?” She asked it as if it would answer. 

Suddenly, the air was filled with a piercing but distant scream. 

Startled, Anna jerked around and looked around for the source. She pinpointed it coming back from where she had come from. Her eyes widened when she heard another scream and it was coming from within the house. She felt her heart nearly stop at the thought that something was trying to hurt Judy. “JUDY!!” She screamed before she bolted back towards the door. She could hear Judy still screaming from inside and it made her insides turn into ice. 

Rushing back inside, Anna pointed the flashlight around the kitchenette, looking for Judy. She found only the clothes that she and Judy had been working on scattered across the floor. So it was obvious that something had frightened the older woman to run out of the room. 

Just then, there was another piercing scream coming from deeper within the house. Anna gasped sharply and hurried to follow it. She hesitated for only a second when she heard loud bangs and crashes. It sounded like someone was throwing things now. That, or trying to break down a door. 

The bangs and crashes were soon followed by insane laughter and grunts that Anna knew all too well. 

“FUCK! REAVERS!” Anna hissed under her breath and hurried as fast as she could around the corner towards her room where she shared with Jesse and Judy. 

There were six of them, crowded around the door, using a bat to try and break it down. One was swinging hard at the door, cracking it as he tried to get in. Judy was inside the room, screaming. There were scraping sounds so it was proving that she was probably pushing furniture against the door to keep the Reavers out. 

“HEY!” Anna suddenly shouted, without really thinking. 

All six Reavers spun around to look at her. They looked surprised for a moment to see their bold new victim before they screamed with insanity and ran at her. 

Swearing, Anna spun around and bolted as fast as she could back the way she had come. She could hear the Reavers chasing after her. She cursed herself for doing that! She was only armed with a damn flashlight and a hand shovel! And there were six of them and one of her! 

‘STUPID! STUPID! STUPID!’ Anna thought repeatedly as she ran outside of the house and down the street. She knew she was in a lot of trouble. She had glanced over her shoulder to see that all six were following after her. She swore again as she let her legs pump harder, running down the darkened streets away from them. She needed to find somewhere to hide. There was no way she could take them all on! One Reaver, yes! Two, that was hard! But six Reavers?! Screw that! That was impossible!

Anna bolted down another street, knowing that the Reavers were still behind her. She kept running as fast as she could, yet they seemed to be getting closer. ‘Damn it! These ones are fast!’ She thought with a Cybertronian curse. She found herself praying that Starscream was on his way home from the meeting and that he would fly over and see her being chased. She hated herself for praying to be rescued by her stupid Decepticon Master. She hated having to rely on…….

“SHIT!” Anna screamed as she screeched to a halt when she saw what just appeared around the corner up the street. 

There were two more Reavers just up the street, raiding a large old garbage dumpster. It looked like someone had tried making it into a home and they caught that person. But when Anna turned on the street, the two Reavers turned around and saw her. They immediately screamed with insanity and charged towards her. 

Swearing once again, Anna turned sharply to run back the way she had come only to run straight into the swinging bat that came flying at her. It hit her right in the stomach, knocking all of the air out of her as she stumbled backwards. She gasped and coughed for the lost air before something slammed into her. Hard. 

Anna felt a scream rise out of her as she slammed against the ground with someone on top of her. She didn’t need to be told that it was a Reaver. The Reaver was already clawing at her, ripping at her skin and pulling her hair by the roots. She screamed as she lashed out with the shovel and flash light. Both struck the Reaver on top of her, causing him to grunt and stagger right off her again. She tried to scamper to her feet but another Reaver slammed into her, dragging her to the ground. 

Screaming, Anna swung the shovel and flashlight again, trying to get that one off of her. She heard the sick sound of the shovel blade slice into the Reaver’s flesh and he screamed in pain as he leaped off of her again. She was quickly on her feet, in a crouch, looking at the Reaver as he feel to the ground, grasping at his throat where the shovel had struck him. She was only relieved for about five seconds to see that the other Reavers had hesitated to see what she had done to their fellow insane man.  
But then they were running at her again, screaming in insanity and rage. 

Quickly, Anna got to her feet and began swinging the shovel and flashlight again. She tried to retreat away from the remaining five in front of her, only to run straight into the two behind her. She felt dirty, ragged nails claw her arm with the flashlight, causing her to drop it. She gasped, trying to scamper and retrieve it but the Reavers blocked her path. She screamed again as hands began grabbing at her, ripping her shirt and clawing at her skin as the Reavers tried to throw her to the ground again. 

Keeping a tighter hold on the shovel, Anna began swinging it left and right, feeling it slice into Reavers and causing them to scream and leap back away from her. They retreated only a short distance away as she continue to swing it, using it as a weapon.  
Once somewhat freed, Anna got to her feet, breathing hard and looking wildly around. She winced at some of the scratches on her face and all over her arms. She knew very well that they were bleeding. And it seriously pissed her off. 

It was like someone had flipped the switch to her fear of Reavers off and turned on a switch of rage and hate. She hated these people! She hated them for being the darkest side of humans, people who had went insane! They were men who were not strong enough to fight the darkness that the Decepticons had brought upon the world! She hated them! She hated that they used to be people like her, Judy, Jesse! PETE! She felt all of her rage and hate reaching a boiling point that she couldn’t help but grip her shovel tighter in her hand until it hurt her palm. 

“Go away!” Anna shouted at them as she held the shovel up to protect her. “Get away from me!” 

Of course, the Reavers didn’t have the reason any more. They couldn’t see reason of what they wanted to do to her. They just charged at Anna, making way to claw at her with their dirty, ripped off nails. 

Sucking in a breath, Anna braced herself before she swung around in a circle, slashing out with the shovel. She felt her weapon slice into a Reaver, making him scream in pain as he stumbled back, clawing at his own ripped open throat. She kept moving, dancing away from them and slashing at any Reaver that came at her. She didn’t see what she was doing but she mostly felt her weapon strike her attackers. She only saw one Reaver get slashed across the eyes with her shovel and stumble back, screaming in pain, rage and insanity.  
But the others continued to attack her. 

There were only three Reavers left now. They charged at once at Anna, even as she tried to slash out at them with her shovel. But one of them had the bat and he was swinging it at her. The bat connected with the back of her hand, making her scream in pain as the shovel went sailing out. She swore loudly as she tried to scamper backwards after it, but the three Reavers charged again. They threw their selves at her, knocking her to the ground. They began tearing at her cloths, ripping her skin open. One of them was attempting to bite through her skin to get to her muscles. 

Anna screamed in pain, tears blinding her as she thrashed and writhed. She tried to swing her fists at them, kick them off of her. But it was hard for her. She was starting to tire down and that was very dangerous for her. She turned around onto her stomach and tried to crawl away but the Reavers were grabbing at her and halting her escape. All she managed to do was scrape her knees and rip her pants open. 

Doing that made it easier for the Reavers to grab at her pants and start ripping them right off of her legs. She screamed as they tore into her legs next and ripped at her underwear. 

“NO!” Anna screamed, now trying even harder to crawl away. 

But one of the Reavers dug his nails into her bare hips and yanked her backwards. The other two were grabbing her arms and starting to hold her down, biting her and ripping skin next. Anna screamed even louder as she tried her best to thrash and fight. She was growing tired of fighting now and it scared her to death. The Reaver digging his nails into her waist was not tearing at his own pants, ripping them open to expose himself. She didn’t have to look to see him trying to position himself at her rectum. 

One of the other Reavers began grabbing her hair, moving himself towards her face. She got a very ugly face full sight of a very dirty, disgusting point right in her face. That Reaver was attempting to thrust himself into her screaming mouth. Anna did all she could to jerk her face away from him and clamp her mouth shut so he couldn’t force himself into her face. He began banging his hips hard against her head, even as she tried screaming away from his thighs. 

The last Reaver was still gnawing at her arm, trying to eat her. 

“NO! PLEASE!! STOP!!” Anna screamed as she felt a pressure right against her crack and starting to push in. “GOD! HELP ME!” 

Suddenly there was a loud bang of a gunshot and the Reaver behind her was thrown right off her. A warm wetness splattered onto Anna’s nearly bare back, startling her. 

The other two Reavers had jumped as well, spinning away from their victim to see what the source of the gunshot had been. Anna looked up wildly through her blurry eyes and barely saw three blurry figures running as fast as they could down the street towards her and the Reavers. She blinked several times, trying to clear her vision before she got see them. 

There were two men and one woman running as fast as they could down the street. All three of them were well armed with assault rifles, aiming them at the last two Reavers. The gun in the woman’s hands was smoking so it had to have been her who shot the Reaver trying to force himself into Anna’s rear. 

The woman was tall, yet slender with dirty but golden blonde hair cut very short below her ears. Anna couldn’t make out the color of her eyes as she was a little far away. But she was wearing black ripped nylons on her legs as well as black or dark blue jean short shorts. She was wearing a short black, sleeveless vest over her torso with a black backpack bouncing off her back as she ran. She had knee high black boots on, which pounded against the ground heavily. 

One of the men with her was a short stubby, dark skinned man wearing an xtra large X-files tee-shirt and baggy black jeans. He also had a black backpack on his back. His hair was buzzed short and his dark face was rather grizzled after not being shaved for nearly a month. 

The last man was the tallest. He was built well for someone who probably did hard labor. It looked like he had rusty brown hair, cut sharply uneven around his head and his face was also a little grizzled looking as if he hadn’t shaved in two weeks. He was wearing a dark brown military shirt and dark blue cargo jeans. He had his black backpack over only one shoulder, bouncing heavily against his side. But all three looked severely pissed at the sight that they were seeing. 

The two remaining Reavers screamed in rage and insanity, once again before charging at the three intruders. 

They did not get far at all. 

There were three gunshots from all three rifles, though the black man didn’t seem to much of a sharpshooter at all. Anna heard the bullet strike a building’s window, shattering it and saw him halt and start swearing at himself. But the woman and the taller man had hit the two Reavers right in the heads, sending them flying backwards onto the street with blood splattering the broken pavement all around Anna. The three were still quickly approaching Anna. 

Startled, the teenage girl, scampered to her torn and bloody knees and tried to crawl away, tears streaming down her cheeks. She did not want to be any where near anyone right now. Even around her saviors. 

But the crunching of gravel proved to Anna that someone was quickly bending down beside her before hands grabbed at her to stop moving away. She cried out in alarm before shoving that person away just as she felt bile explode upward from her stomach. She threw up right there in the street, under the eyes of the three people that just saved her. 

“Shit. Maggie, is she okay?” She heard one of the men speak and it was obviously the black man. 

The woman quickly placed her gun down beside her and gently placed her hands onto Anna’s back, trying to rub it.  
But again, startled, Anna gasped and tried to bolt away, only to run into the other man’s legs. She screamed in terror and back tracked right into the woman’s open arms. She gasped again and tried to escape but the woman wrapped her arms around her and held her from going anywhere. 

“Shhh! Shhh! It’s okay! It’s okay! We’re not here to hurt you!” The woman quickly said, even as Anna struggled against her. Her voice was thickly layered of the Australian accent. 

Too tired and defeated, Anna just burst into tears, leaning against the woman as she started to rock her and try and soothe her fears. She had come way too close to being raped and eaten again only to be saved again. She felt so weak and so stupid that she couldn’t defend herself. She always needed someone to come save her. She couldn’t stop herself from just burying her face into the woman’s shoulder and crying hard. 

“Maggie, I’m sorry, girl. But we really need to get out of here before someone shows up.” The black man remarked again. 

“Glenn! Will you shut the hell up?!” The woman snapped. “She was just attacked by Reavers! Give her a fucking break!”  
The black man muttered to himself but he backed away. 

For a few moments, Anna just cried against the woman before she finally brought herself to mere sobs as she looked tearfully up at the blonde woman. She met quite pretty hazel eyes, looking down at her with concern. 

“You’re okay. You’re safe with us.” The woman said, offering her a gentle smile. 

“Maggie,” The second man finally spoke up, looking around cautiously. “I hate to do this, but I’m agreeing with Glenn. A Decepticon’s bound have heard the gunfire. They’re probably coming to see what happened right now. We should get going. Let’s take her with us back to the Nest.” 

Sighing, the woman nodded and gripped at Anna’s arms. “Hey, we need to go. You’re going to come with us, okay?” She asked, now grabbing at her bag. She pulled out a blanket and wrapped it around Anna’s shoulders to cover up her nakedness. 

But Anna shook her head, as her eyes widened. She knew that she couldn’t go with them, whoever they were. She knew what would happen if Starscream got home and found her gone. “I…..I ca-can’t. I have to go ho-home. If my Mast-Master gets home and I’m not there…..he’ll…..he’ll kill me!” She said full of sobs and fear. 

It might have been just a little dark but Anna clearly saw all three of her saviors’ faces darken at the very word, Master. They surely did not like that word at all. 

The woman, Maggie, shook her head as she braced herself to standing up all the while helping Anna to her feet. “You are not going back to your Decepticon Master. We won’t have that. With us, you’re freed. We’re saving you from your slavery, okay? Just come with us.” She told her. 

Anna frowned as she looked at the woman before wearily looking at the two men. She didn’t understand. Where in the world would she be safe from Starscream? Who were these people? “Who…..who are you?” She asked already feeling like she was about to pass out any second. 

The three saviors just smiled as they glanced at one another then looked back at her. The woman reached up and gently brushed blonde and lavender strands out of Anna’s eyes as she smiled gently. “My name is Maggie. That’s Glenn.” She motioned to the big black man and then to the last man. “And that’s Sam. We’re with DATAR and we’re to protect you.” She told her. 

A small gasp escaped from Anna’s mouth as she looked at them with surprise. She couldn’t….she couldn’t believe this! These people…..they were……they were with DATAR?! But more than less, she looked wide eyed at the last man that this……Maggie had indicated to. “……S-Sam?” She whispered before darkness swallowed her up and her knees gave out. She heard all three shout out in surprise as that man……Sam had swooped forward to help Maggie catch her from falling. But either way, Anna was out like a light.


	7. Chapter Six

 

When waking up, Anna suddenly realized that she was not in her own bed, in Starscream’s barracks. She immediately knew that she was somewhere else and it alarmed her. She had not woken up to Starscream yelling at her to get up and get to work or to Judy’s delicious smells of breakfast. Jesse was not shaking her awake to get her up for the day. She knew that she was not where she was suppose to be. 

Anna opened her eyes to find herself in a semi dark room that looked like it had been carved right out of a cavern, dimmed with only electric or gas lanterns hanging from the rocky like ceiling. She was lying on a thick sleeping bag with a deep green wool blanket covering her and keeping her warm. She was the only one in the rocky room, though. Judy or Jesse was no where to be seen. She could hear the strangest sounds of distant talking or clanging of metal. 

No, she was definitely not back home. 

Looking around with confusion, Anna slowly sat up and let the blanket fall around her waist, which she was surprised to see that she was not wearing her usual clothes. She was wearing an over large shirt and new panties. She did not recognize them and knew instantly that they were not her own. She didn’t own these. She didn’t remember putting these things on. So who the hell put them on her?  
Confused, Anna pushed the wool blanket off of her and started to get to her knees to look around with a deep frown. She tried to remember what happened, how she had gotten there and where here really was.

The room she was in was no doubt underground, carved out of complete rock. It was slightly small probably five feet apart from wall to wall and just as long. There was a thick blanket hanging off one of the walls, probably serving as a door. There was only this strange bed and the lanterns as well as a few bags. She still didn’t recognize any of it. She was completely confused about what was going on. And she had a harder time trying to figure out what had happened to her that brought her to this strange place. 

Just then the blanket serving as the door to the room was swung aside and a tall man walked in. He was examining a flashlight, frowning at it as if he was annoyed with it. He didn’t even notice that Anna was even awake until he heard her gasp with alarm. Only then did he look up and notice that she was looking at him with wide eyes. 

“Oh. Hey.” He said now smiling at her. 

And then Anna started screaming in fear and alarm as she began scooting across the rocky floor, wincing at the texture of the ground. 

Startled, the man jumped and dropped the flashlight onto the ground. It made a loud clattering noise as it hit the stone floor. But he mostly ignored it as he held up his hands and waved them at her. “Hey! No, no! Don’t do that! I’m not going…….!” He gasped now hurrying forward. 

But Anna screamed louder as her back hit the stone wall and she curled her knees close to her body. 

The man shook his head and held up a finger to his mouth as he looked down at her with wide eyes. “Shhh! No, it’s okay! You don’t need to scream! I’m not going to hurt you!” He tried to cry over her screams. 

Again, Anna ignored him and screamed again. She then frantically looked around for something to defend herself with and found a shoe. She didn’t think as she picked it up and threw it at the man, nailing him right in the face with it. He only yelped as he backtracked away from her. 

Suddenly, the blanket was swung aside and a blonde woman that Anna somewhat remembered hurried in, looking around with wide eyes. There were other people looking in with alarm, wondering what was going on. But they were suddenly cut off when the woman let go of the blanket and glared at the man when she saw Anna curled up against the wall, looking terrified. “SAM!” She yelled. “What did you do?!” 

The man shook his head and waved a hand at her as if to try and brush off her fury. “I just walked in here, looking for batteries! I didn’t do anything!” He protested. 

“Get out! Get out!” The woman barked, now grabbing his arm and shoving him towards the blanket. She glared after him as he scurried out of the room before she swung around and faced Anna, who had stopped screaming and tried to press even closer to the wall. She shook her head as she hurried over and dropped down into a crouch near her. “Hey, hey.” She said soothingly when Anna cringed away from her. She kept her hands tucked into her lap as she looked at her. “Hey, it’s okay. It’s me. Maggie. Remember me? From last night?” 

For a moment, Anna looked terrified and confused as she narrowed her eyes at the woman. She tried to remember who this woman was. But after a moment of thinking, it all came back to her. She remembered talking with Judy about her past. She remembered the Reavers breaking into the house and attacking her and she had lead them away from Judy. She recalled that she tried to fight them when they caught her and they over powered her. She remembered how they tried to rape and eat her but she had been saved. She had been saved by this woman and two other men. And she remembered the woman’s name as well as the two men’s. 

Alarmed, Anna stared up at the woman. “You…..you’re…..DATAR?” She asked, breathless from alarm and excitement. “Bu-but what happened? Where……where am I?” 

The woman, Maggie, smiled at her before offering her hand. “Yep. I’m Maggie. I’m with DATAR. Me and the two guys, Sam and Glenn. We brought you back to our little hidey hole in the ground. You’re safe with us. You don’t need to be afraid.” She told her gently. 

Anna blinked a few times before she felt an awed smile curl on her face. She was safe. She was with the DATAR. She couldn’t believe this. She couldn’t believe that she was with them! She had been saved by DATAR! 

“Wow.” Was the only thing that she could breath out. 

Maggie smiled with a light laugh before she waved her hand a little to remind Anna that she was still holding it out. “So, what’s your name? Who did we steal you from?” She asked. 

Now, Anna frowned with alarm and fear. She knew that Starscream was going to be severely pissed off when he found her gone from his barracks. She knew that if he ever found her, he was so going to kill her. It made her afraid again as she slowly took Maggie’s hand and shook it. “My name is Anna. And you stole me from my……Master St-Starscream.” She shook her head, looking afraid again. “He….He’s so going to be mad when he finds me gone. He’s going to kill me when he finds me!” She said, her voice getting a little emotional again. 

The dark look was back on Maggie’s face as she listened to the young teen. But she shook her head as she gripped Anna’s hand gently. “Anna, he is not going to find you. He will never find you here. I promise. You won’t ever have to be his slave again. Down here, we are free people.” She told her before the gentle smile was back on her face. She stood up, lightly tugging Anna’s hand to help her stand up. “Now, why don’t we find you some clothes to wear? You can’t wander around wearing that.” 

Anna stood up with her help and made a face as she looked herself over. She definitely didn’t want to walk around in this outfit, especially if there were men wandering around. “Um….my cloths were ripped and shredded, remember?” She asked in a timid tone. 

Maggie just laughed a little before she shook her head and pulled her gently towards a bag in the room. “No worries, hon. I’ve got some clothes to lend.” She narrowed her eyes and looked Anna over as if measuring her size. “Let’s see. You’re about my size. I’m taller than you so the pants will definitely be a little baggy. But you’re my breast size so I can give you one of my extra bras. Same with the shirt.” She remarked before she turned away from Anna and began digging in one of the bags. She ruffled through it, grabbing light blue jeans, a white bra and a light blue shirt. “Okay! Here you go!” 

“Thank…..thank you.” Anna said taking them and hugging the clothes close to her chest. 

Maggie smiled at her and shook her head. “No problem. Get dressed and then come on out. I’ll show you around the Nest and introduce you to people.” She told her. And then she ducked back out of the room so that Anna could get dressed.  
It took about five minutes to get the clothes on. Anna looked herself over, making a face to see that the form fitting pants were dragging on the floor a little. She fixed that by rolling up off the ground. The shirt she wore was a little big too but she ignored it. She was just a little happy that the bra fit just fine. 

Taking a deep breath, Anna looked timidly at the blanket. She was a little nervous about facing people but excited at the same time. She was with DATAR now. She felt only a little wave of sadness roll over her as she wished that Pete could be there with her. She wished that he had not been killed by the Decepticons and could be free with her. Just like how they always wanted it. 

Feeling the grief starting to well up inside of her again, Anna quickly shook her head and tried to brush it aside. She couldn’t do this right now. She was free now. She would live the memory of Pete like how he wanted her to by helping DATAR take out the Decepticons. She only hoped that the Auto-aliens would hurry and get her SOS and come help them. 

Taking another deep breath, Anna went over to the blanket and ducked through it. It was right at that moment, she froze with surprise to see what sight that greeted her. 

All around her was a huge cavern at least thirty feet high and probably fifty feet wide. It was like a huge bubble within the ground with only rock surrounding her. There was a sound of running water somewhere but it was slightly blocked out by the activity that was happening. There were tons of human beings moving around the cavern, working everywhere. There were two large metal trailers in the center of the cavern with several wooden crates here and there. 

But it was the people that held Anna’s surprise the most. 

There must have been at least forty people scattered all over the cavern, working in groups or by their selves. Several were working on weapons and some were hovering over what looked like maps. 

“Hey.” 

Anna gasped and jerked around to see the man again standing with Maggie and the black man. He was keeping his distance this time, probably not wanting her to start screaming in his face again. He looked pretty sheepish as he rubbed the back of his neck.  
But Anna recognized him from the night before. And she remembered what Maggie had said his name was. She couldn’t help but look at him in awe and surprise. “…..Sam.” She breathed. 

The man smiled faintly at her and waved a hand as he ventured a little closer with Maggie and the black man. He was wearing a green military shirt and worn, baggy jeans. A worn down, brown leather jacket covered the shirt and it actually looked pretty good on him. He was a geeky, good looking fellow. But good looking, nonetheless. He must have been at least in his early thirties. 

“Yup. That’s me. Sorry for scaring you. I really didn’t mean to. I was just looking for batteries.” The man, Sam said. 

Anna grimaced before she forced herself to walk closer to him. She still felt a little uneasy with the fact that there were two men before her. She didn’t feel too comfortable with the male gender after what nearly happened the night before. But she figured that she’d better get over it because there were definitely more men than women in this place. 

Shaking her head, Anna stuck her hands into the back pockets of her new jeans. “No. It’s….it’s okay. I shouldn’t have…..I shouldn’t have reacted like that. I’m sorry.” She said, grimacing at how weak she sounded. 

Sam just shook his head with a faint smile and waved a hand as if brushing it away. “No. Don’t apologize. You went through hell last night. I would have been more surprised if you hadn’t started screaming. I would have been scared too if I were in your position.” He said offering his hand. “Well, since you know me as Sam, what’s your name?” 

“Anna.” The young teen said as she carefully took his hand and shook it. She tilted her head curiously to the side and then dipped it down a little while looking right into his watery blue eyes. “Sam. Are you…..Are you Megatron’s slave?” She asked. 

That got a reaction that Anna didn’t like. Sam’s face went a little dry but he shook his head. “Oh, hell no. Megabreath might have called me his slave but I sure don’t call myself his slave.” He remarked dryly. 

Biting her lip, Anna shrugged almost shyly. She figured that he would have said it that way. So she tried a different approach. “Okay. Then are you Judy’s Sam?” She asked cautiously. 

The surprised look on Sam’s face answered that for her. His eyes lit up at the very name before he stepped back and tilted his head to the side. “Judy? You mean, mom? You know my mom?” He asked, his tone a little excited now. 

Anna smiled, liking the answer. She couldn’t believe it. It was almost like taboo to her. Or some kind of strange twist of fate. She had been talking to Judy about Sam right before she even met him. “Yeah. I know Judy. She’s one of my best friends. Together, we’re…..well, were Starscream’s slaves.” She told him. 

“How……um…..” Sam began carefully, still looking surprised. “How is she doing?” 

Anna snorted and shook her head as she folded her arms across her chest. “I’m sure she’s just fine. The last time I saw her was last night before…..” Her face fell at the memory but she shook it off. “Before the Reavers attacked me. They actually broke into Starscream’s to get at her. But I made them chase me instead. She had herself locked into her room when I got them to come after me. But I’m sure she’s fine.” She told him. 

Sam made a pitiful look but there was no doubt a little gratitude to hear that his mother was safe. But he still had a little shame as he grimaced. “I’m sorry. I kind of want to thank you for saving her….but…..letting yourself get attacked by them to save her…..that’s……that would be really selfish of me.” He said. 

“No.” Anna piped up, smiling faintly. “It’s okay. Yeah, I used myself as a target to save Judy but you guys showed up in time. You saved me. So it’s okay. So I should thank you for it.” 

And then Maggie cleared her throat, making both of them wince with smiles and looked at her and the black man. She just shook her head and smiled at them. “I’m glad you two sort of know each other. “She motioned to the black man. “You should remember Glenn. Glenn, Sam, Anna.” She said introducing them. 

“S’up, girl.” Glenn greeted her warmly. 

Anna just smiled at him and nodded right back to him. 

Maggie turned slightly away but still looked at Anna, motioning her to follow after her. “Come on. You’re probably starving by now. Let’s get you some food.” She told Anna. 

At the mention of food, the young teen quickly followed after her. She realized that she was starving. Her stomach was twisting and growling at her at the mentioning of food. She remembered she had not eaten since lunch the day before. She saw Sam and Glenn following after and she was glad. She wanted to talk to Sam a little longer anyway. She had so many questions to ask him. 

For starters, she looked around curiously. “So….what is this place?” She asked, eyeing everything. Sam, Maggie and Glenn glanced around the cavern before smiling at her. 

“This? Oh, this is the Nest. It’s where we hide and plan all of our attacks against the Decepticons. We call it the Nest because that’s what the Decepticons call it. It’s our nest of rebellions.” Sam explained with a shrug. “It’s our human sanctuary well away from any of them, evil robots. It’s in the mountains just outside of the city where we found you. I guess it used to be some old mine before Will or Epps found it. It’s not too bad down here. We have running water, thanks to the underground river. We have to steal food though. But we have plenty of that. Will and Epps goes on raids every night, attacking the Decepticons’ places and stealing food.” 

At the mentioning of Will and Epps, Anna’s eyes lit up and she looked at Sam with excitement. “Will and Epps?! THE Will and Epps?! The Leaders of the DATAR! You mean they’re here?! They’re alive?!” She asked excitedly. 

All three; Maggie, Sam and Glenn laughed at her enthusiasm and nodded as they looked at her. They sure found her excitement amusing. “Yeah. Will and Epps. The very ones.” Maggie said before looking around with narrowed eyes. She seemed to be looking for the very people but then she shook her head. “I don’t see them so they must be outside somewhere. But they’ll be back soon enough. They mostly go out at night and it’s well past Dawn. You’ll get to see them soon enough.” She told her. 

Anna, still excited, decided to ask her next question. “So…..how long has this cavern been here? I mean, how long have you been here?” She asked, trying to stop herself from asking more questions about the two most Legendary humans. 

“It’s been about……ten years since this cavern’s been our headquarters. Like Sam said, it was Will and Epps who found it. It was much smaller at that time but with a little……” Maggie cut herself off making a face. It was like she was being very hesitant about mentioning something. She was definitely a little unsure of what to say to Anna. “Well, with a little help, we made it bigger.” She finished. 

Now looking at her cautiously, Anna tilted her head and watched Maggie very carefully. “Help? What could have possibly help you make this place this big?” She asked. 

Sam, Maggie and Glenn looked at one another almost very carefully. They were sure hiding something from her. And they weren’t sure if they should tell her. But then Sam shrugged, weakly. “We might as well tell her. She’ll find out about him sooner or later. You can’t really miss him walking around.” He suggested. 

Slowly nodding, Maggie and Glenn both pointed at him. “Okay. You tell her. It’s your big toy.” She remarked. 

Making a face at her, Sam shook his head. “He’s not an It. And he’s not a toy.” He remarked as if offended. He then turned back to Anna and made a face again. He was definitely trying to figure out a way of how to say this to her. And being careful about it. “Okay. Do me a favor, Anna. Everyone freaks out when they meet him at first. But I swear to you, he’s not here to hurt anyone. He’s done nothing but try and help all of us. He’s……pretty controllable. He hasn’t given any one a reason to believe that he’s here to harm people. And he’s really nice. So please, please don’t freak out.” He explained. 

“What?” Anna asked now very suspicious. “What are you trying to say?” 

Sucking in a lot of air, Sam shook his head before he turned away from her. He looked around as if searching for something before he stuck his fingers into his mouth and gave a loud shrill whistle that echoed right off the rocky walls. Many people jumped and looked towards them and even Anna had to wince of how shrill the whistle had been. 

For a moment, nothing happened. 

But then Anna heard a purring sound that sounded very much like an engine. She looked around, trying to follow the sound before she spied it. It was coming out of a tunnel within the large cavern. She was surprised to see an actual car driving through the tunnel and the cave. Many people got out of its way, even though it was driving very slowly and carefully of the many bumps and ruts. 

It was a rather dusty and rusted car but it was clear of what it was. It was a yellow and black car; a Chevy Camaro if Anna remembered right. But it had her eyes growing wide anyway. She was starting to get the idea of what was going on. 

“Uh…..wh-why do you have a car in the cavern?” Anna asked, her tone very uneasy as she watched it drive closer to them. Sam, Maggie and Glenn stared at her uneasily, looking as if they were waiting for her to just come out and say it. So she figured it was time. She looked fearfully at them, trying to ask if they were serious. “You have a Decepticon down here with you?!” She yelped. 

Sam made a face as he quickly held up a hand and shook his head. He was moving towards the alien robot in disguise when slammed on its brakes and made a light honk as if it was offended by Anna’s words. “He’s……he’s different! He’s not a Decepticon! Or at least, he’s not like them!” He turned to look at the car as it began to shift and twist and transform into its real form. “Bumblebee, she didn’t know, so be nice!” He warned the alien robot. 

Standing up to his full 18 feet tall, head nearly touching the rocky ceiling, the robot looked down at Anna with a clearly offended look. It then looked somewhat taken aback when she slowly backed away from it, looking terrified. 

Sam winced as he moved closer to the alien robot’s leg and gently placed a hand against its metal frame. He could see very well that it wasn’t sitting too well with Anna. “Anna, it’s okay! He’s not a Decepticon. Look!” He pointed upward towards the robot’s face. “Look at his forehead! It’s not the Decepticon symbol!” He told her. 

Cautiously, Anna tilted her head back and look up at the robot’s face. She then saw the differences. Unlike the Decepticons’ burning red glare, this robot had gentle blue eyes. And the insignia on his forehead was not the violent purple Decepticon insignia. It was of a square robotic face and it was red. 

“Oh…..my……” Anna breathed in surprise. “You’re…..you’re not a Decepticon?! Then that means……that means you’re one of the Auto-Aliens, aren’t you?!” She asked a little excited now. 

Everyone looked surprised at her words. They surely didn’t expect that to come out of her words. But the strange yellow and black robot seemed to understand and nodded excitedly. A radio kicked on from it. “Get in the Zone! Autozone!” The slogan came out of the radio. “Robots!” The next word came out of the radio. “Get in the……Autozo….Auto……robots! Ro…..bot……” 

Narrowing her eyes, Anna bit her lip trying to think of what it was trying to say. She didn’t understand for a moment before she looked at Sam. “Can’t he talk?” She asked. 

Sam shook his head, looking somewhat pleased that she wasn’t freaking out like he had expected. “No. He’s never been able to say anything other than playing gimmicks and songs off his radio system. Believe me, it’s not easy trying to understand him. But I figured out what his name was. It’s Bumblebee.” He told her. 

“Okay…….can he talk in Cybertronian then?” Anna asked carefully. 

Again, everyone looked surprised. “Huh? Uh….” Maggie muttered, looking confused. “Maybe. I think its said some things. But none of us can understand Cybertronian.” 

Anna made a face at what she was about to do. But she figured it was worth a shot. She looked up at the robot……Bumblebee. “Speak in Cybertronian. I can understand your language.” She told him, once again surprising if not shocking everyone. 

Even Bumblebee looked surprised but then a string of clicks, beeps and whirls came right out of him as he looked down at Anna cautiously. 

Smiling, Anna nodded. “Yes, I can understand you now, Bumblebee. Starscream was the one who taught me your language. He made me learn. So, you’re one of the Auto-aliens?” She asked carefully. A whirl came right out of Bumblebee and Anna’s eyes lit up in surprise. “An……An Autobot? That’s what you’re really called? You’re an Autobot?” She then narrowed her eyes. “Then…..you’re not like the Decepticons, right? Why are you really here?”

And anyone who was listening began to crowd around her, looking very surprised. They couldn’t believe that someone could actually talk to their resident robot. But none the less, a series of beeps, whirls, clicks and honks came right out of Bumblebee as he began to explain to Anna.


	8. Chapter Seven

Quite astonished, Anna slowly nodded as she listened to Bumblebee explaining the entire situation. She was fully aware of the stares she was getting by everyone all around her and Bumblebee. They didn’t understand what the yellow and black robot was saying. But she understood every single word and it really astonished her. “Wow. That makes sense. I can’t believe that.” She found herself muttering almost breathlessly. 

“Uh……Anna, some of us, if not all of us don’t speak robot. Translation?” Glenn said, raising an eyebrow at her. 

Just a little dazed, Anna shook her head as she looked around at everyone before blowing out air. She had no idea where to even begin really. But maybe it should just be the basics first. “Okay. Let’s see. First of all, Bumblebee is not even close to being a Decepticon. He says that he’s an Autobot. Autobots are Cybertronians just like the Decepticons are. Only the Autobots are supposedly long time enemies of the Decepticons. They have been at war with each other for generations. Millennia’s, even. They’ve been at war with each other a lot longer than we’ve been at war with the Decepticons.” She explained. “Apparently, the Autobots are not even close to being like the Decepticons. They don’t believe in enslaving beings. Bumblebee says that their outlook on life is that all sentient beings have the right to choose for their selves.” 

“Okay. So why…..why are the Decepticons here? Why aren’t the Autobots here fighting them?” Maggie asked frowning. 

Anna looked up at Bumblebee, frowning. She would definitely need him to explain that part. She listened to him beep, whirl and click for a moment before she made a face as if she didn’t like that answer. “Oh, really? So basically we, humans, screwed our selves over.” She remarked dryly. 

Everyone else frowned at that answer. 

“Huh? What…..?” Sam was asking. “What did he say?” 

Anna shook her head as she looked at him with a pretty grim look as she folded her arms. “He said that the reason that the Decepticons are here is because they were looking Megatron and the All Spark. That cube thing that Megatron has. Apparently it was shipped off to Earth by accident during the war for it. Megatron found it here but before he could get to it, he crash landed in the Arctic Circle and froze into stasis. It was many years before he was found again by the American Government. They tried to hide his existence though from the entire world by locking him up within the Hoover Dam and were left that way for years. It was eighteen or nineteen years ago did the rest of the Decepticons found him and all of this started up.” She explained. “According to Bumblebee, he was here just a little while before the Decepticons took over. When he found out about the Decepticons, he was supposed to send word to the other Autobots to let them know where they were. But he didn’t get the chance because…..” 

Sam suddenly sucked in a deep breath as it hit him. “All because of the Decepticons. When they started to attack.” He breathed. 

Nodding, Anna looked around at everyone. “Yes. Bumblebee said that he tried to protect Sam because he had the key to Earth’s survival. A pair of glasses that had directions to the All Spark’s location.” She frowned at Sam. “Sam, did you give the Decepticons your grandfather’s glasses?” She asked.   
Quite alarmed, Sam shook his head. “What?! No!” He looked at Bumblebee, almost accusing him. “Are you telling her that this is my fault?!” He asked somewhat hurt and annoyed. 

Bumblebee quickly shook his head as he held up his hands and dropped down to his knee before Sam. He clicked and beeped many times almost just as quickly. 

“He said no, Sam. He’s not accusing you.” Anna said quickly, looking wide eyed at the man. “He’s defending you. He said that someone somehow found out about your grandfather’s glasses and gave them to the Decepticons to ensure Earth’s safety.” She made a face at the very thought. She was definitely not happy about this part. “Apparently it was another human who did it. Bumblebee couldn’t stop that person from giving the Decepticons the glasses because we, the humans, attacked him.” She told everyone dryly. “It was us. The humans. It was a human who betrayed the human race. Bumblebee said that he was attacked by a secret government group, stopping him from sending out for help from the Autobots.” 

Now, all three, Sam, Maggie and Glenn looked surprised before they all sighed in disbelief and weariness. They seemed to know exactly who Anna and Bumblebee was talking about. “Sector Seven.” Maggie said dryly, understanding now. 

Anna and several people frowned at her but they decided they probably didn’t even want to know. To hear that it was all the humans’ fault for all of this darkness and mayhem, it was too unsettling. “Anyway, Bumblebee said that the humans basically put him into a coma for what they did to him for fifteen years. That is until someone found him and let him out.” She went on to explaining. 

Sam slowly nodded as he looked thoughtfully. “That someone was me. I’m the one who found Bumblebee after so long. It was when I was still Megatron’s little pet but I found him and did some rewiring on him.” 

Bumblebee nodded and chirped at Anna, who nodded. “Okay. Bumblebee says that the only reason why the Autobots aren’t here, fighting the Decepticons is because of what was done to him. They don’t know where he’s at. They don’t know what’s going on with Earth.” She announced to everyone. 

“So……why doesn’t he send word to the others now?” Someone in the growing crowd asked. 

Bumblebee shook his head and spoke in Cybertronian, his eyes on Anna since she was the only one who could understand him. Anna slowly nodded as she listened to him, taking it all in. She sighed at the very answer. Even she knew this answer and it did make sense. 

“He can’t. Even I know why he can’t. There’s an energy source that’s blocking out all transmissions from leaving Earth. I know for a fact that energy source is the Decepticon, Soundwave. He’s got connections to every single radio and transmission wave on the entire planet. That’s how powerful he really is.” She shrugged, her arms folding across her chest. “And Bumblebee says that even if he tried sending out a transmission to the Autobots, it’s going to get reigned in by Soundwave and then he and all of the Decepticons will know that there’s an Autobot on Earth. And if they knew about him, it will just make things a lot worst for us, humans. The Decepticons would start killing humans left and right just to draw him out. He said that it really, really bugs him that he can’t do anything right now for us. He’s completely out numbered and he’s better alive than dead right now. As long as he’s on Earth, there’s a little hope. If we can find one little hole so he could…….” She suddenly broke off with a gasp and her eyes grew wide with shock. 

Everyone around her frowned at the shocked look on her face, growing concerned. “Anna? What’s wrong?” Maggie asked, moving closer and touching her arm.   
Anna just stared at the ground with wide eyes before she clapped a hand over her mouth. She couldn’t believe it! Why hadn’t she remembered this before?! It had been on her mind for day since she did it! 

With tears starting to prickle her eyes, Anna looked up at Bumblebee with awe. “Bumblebee……” She quickly looked around at everyone, noting how worried or weirded out they looked right now. She just sniffed a little before wiping her wetting eyes. “The only transmissions that can go out are messages from the Decepticons’ own personal communication systems.” She said carefully. 

“Uh….okay. So what?” Glenn asked, tilting his head away from her. 

Sniffing back more happy tears, Anna shook her head as she wiped any trailing tears away. “I think…..I think I just saved the entire world.” She received surprised looks from everyone. “Two days ago, I used Starscream’s communications system to send out an SOS out into space.”   
Many pairs of eyes grew wide with surprise or shock. They couldn’t believe that. They didn’t believe that. 

“What?!” Maggie asked, her voice full of excitement. 

Anna just nodded as she smiled all around the crowd. She felt a spark of pride within her for what she had done. “I did it because I overheard my Decepticon Master, Starscream and Thundercracker talking about the Autobots. They were talking about what the DATAR was doing and they just ended up mentioning. At that time,” She looked apologetically at Bumblebee. “I thought the Autobots were called the Auto-scum.” She got a dry look from the yellow and black robot and a dry chirp. “What?! I did! I’m sorry, Bumblebee! But that’s what they were calling the Autobots! I thought that’s what they were. So don’t get mad at me.” She grumbled at him. 

A few people chortled as they got the idea of what was going on. 

“Anyway,” Anna said dryly right back at Bumblebee before smiling and looking around at everyone. “They mentioned the Autobots. They said that they would rather deal with the human rebels than the Autobots. They do not want the Autobots coming here. They seemed to be…..nervous about even mentioning them.” She shrugged. “So….I got the idea of sneaking into Starscream’s room and using his Communications system. I sent out an SOS, hoping that the Autobots will get it and would come to help us. And if they get it, they’ll come to Earth and help us!” She said excitedly. 

Quite a few people looked really excited about it. Some were even cheering and chanting Anna’s name, making her beam. Though a few others looked a little skeptic. No one could be sure if Anna’s idea could be good or bad. But either way, it may be the chance that they needed for Earth’s survival and freedom.   
Of course, someone who had been listening from the farthest side of the group just had to voice their skepticsm about Anna’s idea. And it was not someone that Anna even expected. 

“How the hell do you know that these so called Autobots would ever want to help us? What if you just destroyed all of us?” 

Heads spun around in surprise when they heard the voice. Anna was even surprised, though she didn’t know that voice. She was even more surprised to see a group of soldiers dressed all in black. There were about six of them standing together. But the one who had spoke, the one who was leading all of them through the parting crowd towards Anna was the one who had her attention. 

He was a very good looking man in his late forties. He had sandy brown hair and deep brown eyes. He was definitely taller than Anna by a few solid inches and was built just like a good strong soldier. His skin was pretty rough from the environment. He was wearing black military pants and a thick black army jacket that was scorched and torn in a few places. On his feet he wore worn black combat boots. He carried an assault rifle on his back, much like the other men. And he looked pretty annoyed. 

“Will! Epps! You’re back!” Several people said, not patting him and the others on the backs. 

But Anna couldn’t help but stare right back at the man, who was staring at her. There was something very familiar about him. She couldn’t figure it out. She could have sworn that she knew his face from somewhere. She just didn’t know from where. And she certainly didn’t know why he was looking so annoyed at her. 

At the moment, the man was ignoring the greetings he was getting from everyone. He didn’t even seem to hear what they were saying to him. He was staring intensively at Anna, not looking happy one bit of what she just said. But after a moment, he tore his eyes away and held up a hand to get everyone’s attention. “Hey! Everyone! Listen up! I need everyone to be quiet!” He called. He waited till everyone went quiet and was looking at him. He looked around at everyone, looking quite grim. “The perimeter alarms just went off. We have a Deception near by and it looks like it’s underground. And since there’s only one that goes underground, it’s more than likely Scorponok.” He held up a hand when people began to murmur in fear and nervousness. “Hey! I don’t want anyone to panic, all right! We’re just going to do what we always do. We need it quiet for about twelve hours. No noise, no anything. And even if he does hear us, we set the EMP gates. He will not be getting past them without running into the electric charges. But like I said, we need it quiet. Everyone, dead silence in fifteen! Go make the preparations! Go!” 

Immediately people began moving in all directions. They seemed to know exactly what they needed to do. 

But Anna just stared right at the man. She couldn’t believe her eyes. This…..this was Will. This was THE Legendary Will, the founder of DATAR. She couldn’t believe she was actually looking directly at the Will! 

And that tall, dark skinned man right next to him, wearing the exact same outfit must have been Epps!

A smile broke out on Anna’s face as she felt her excitement hit the top. She just could not believe this! She was seeing the two most Legendary human beings on the entire planet. And it really got to her. These two were her greatest heroes. She had dreams about meeting them and fighting alongside them. And now…..they seemed to be coming true. 

“Hmm. I see a pretty big smile on your face. See something you like?” Maggie asked, nudging Anna’s arm. 

Anna blushed as she glanced at her new friend before she shook her head and smiled. “I’ve heard a lot about Will and Epps. I mean, that is Will and Epps, right?” She received a nod from the other blonde. “They’re my heroes! I’ve always dreamed of meeting them, fighting beside them.” She admitted.   
Smiling brightly with Sam and Glenn, Maggie shook her head before she reached out and took Anna’s arm. “Oh, really? Well, since its your dream to meet them, let’s go make it come true.” She said, now pulling Anna after her and not missing a soft squee escaping from her. She laughed with Sam and Glenn as they lead her towards the two soldiers. Bumblebee just stood right where he was at. “Hey! Will! Epps!” 

Both men turned around as they had been setting down their rifles on a near by crate and looked at the approach four. Will looked somewhat alert while Epps just looked curiously at the new girl. “What, Maggie? Did something happen while we were out?” Will asked. 

Maggie shook her head as she smiled brightly at him before she placed her hand onto Anna’s back and pushed her gently forward. “Nope. I just wanted you to meet our newest arrival. Sam, Glenn and I found her last night……” She was saying. 

Looking a little impatient, Will shook his head as he held up a hand. He was already starting to back away, looking irritated with Maggie. “Maggie, we don’t have time for meeting and greetings right now. We’ve got too much to do within fifteen minutes. I can’t say hi to every single new face we get down here. Just show her around, tell her the rules and have her help you get it quiet down here.” He said impatiently now turning to walk away.   
Anna felt her heart drop as did her excited smile. She felt as if she had just gotten slapped right in the face. 

“Hey! Will!” Maggie said with irritation and anger. “She’s a fan of yours! She really wanted to meet you!” 

“Ooooh! A fan! I didn’t know we had any of those!” Epps said, grinning at Anna as he took a few steps towards her and thrust out a hand for her to shake. “Hiya! Epps, here!” 

“Anna.” Anna said, her smile slightly back on her face as she took his hand and shook it. 

Grinning, Epps gave her hand a hearty shake before he dropped it. “Nice to meet ya, Anna. Welcome to the Nest.” He then glanced over his shoulder to see that Will was still somewhat walking away. He rolled his eyes and put his fists onto his waist. “Will, it ain’t gonna kill you just to say hi to this girl!”   
Letting out an air of aggravation, Will spun around and gave his friend a very irritated look. He did not look pleased one bit. “Epps, we don’t have time for this. With the deadlines coming up and a fucking Decepticon sneaking around the Nest…..” He was saying. 

Epps returned the irritated look with his own before shaking his head. “Will, we got plenty of time. Scorpo ain’t even around right at this second. He’s not even less than five miles away from the Nest and he’s not even coming this way. Yet. You are just being a snub because of what we just heard come out of this girl’s mouth.” He threw his thumb over his shoulder towards Bumblebee, shaking his head. “Will, Yellow, over there, hasn’t given us a reason to shoot him yet. He’s been nothing but helpful to us. I know you don’t like the robots. Neither do I. But he’s been nothing but nice to every single human in the Nest. And if there’s any more like him, I say we need their help. Like it or not, Will, we ain’t going anywhere with this war with the Decepticons. They’re winning, man.” He remarked. 

Again, Will looked irritated. He was getting annoyed with everyone right at the moment. “Epps, not now.” He then looked over at Sam and pointed at Bumblebee, who cringed at the finger as if it were a gun being aimed at him. “Sam, put that damn robot away or put him to work.” He then looked at Anna, who cringed under his irritated gaze. “Look, Anna, was it? I’m sorry but I can’t deal with you right now. I got too much to do.” He told her. 

“Will!” Maggie scolded. 

Giving her a sharp look, Will sighed with frustration before waving a hand sharply towards Anna. “Okay, fine. Hi. Welcome to the Nest. Now, try to make yourself useful. Don’t send any more messages to fucking robots. We have enough of them to deal with right now.” He said gruffly before he marched away.   
Anna flinched as if Will had just lashed out at her. She felt really hurt by his words. She was not expecting the Legendary Will to be so harsh. She felt as if she’d just been slapped by him for doing something wrong. And it actually burned really bad. 

Either way, Epps, Maggie, Sam and Glenn groaned as if they frustrated and they really were. 

“Don’t take it personally, Anna.” Epps spoke up, putting a hand on her shoulder. He shot a look after his friend as he went over to tell someone off for goofing around. “Will’s not always an asshole. It’s just this is the anniversary day.” He told her. 

“Anniversary?” Anna asked frowning at him. 

“Will’s wife and baby were killed this day, seventeen or eighteen years ago.” Epps said, with a sigh. “Every year, this day, he tends to get really grumpy. Other than this day, he can be nice.” 

Anna looked surprised but a look of understanding immediately washed over her. She understood why Will was reacting the way he was. She didn’t blame him for it either. She knew that she would probably act the very same way he did if she was in his position. 

“Hey, ya hungry? You look starved.” Epps suddenly said as he jerked his head for her to follow him. 

“Oh! Shit!” Maggie exclaimed now slapping a hand to her forehead repeatedly. “Shit, shit, shit! Anna, I am so sorry! I totally forgot that you haven’t eaten yet!”   
Everyone laughed as they watched her continue slapping her forehead until Glenn reached out and made her stop. Epps just shook his head as he grinned at Anna and motioned her to follow him. “Don’t worry about it, Mags. You just go on ahead and do what Ol’ Grumps said. I’ll take her to get some grub. I’m ‘ungry, myself.” He told her. “Come on, Anna. After we eat, I’ve got time to show you around, myself. ‘Kay?” 

Anna smiled brightly and looked at Maggie. She earned a returning smile and a nod. Then she turned and hurried after the tall, black man. She noticed that Sam and Bumblebee was following after them while Glenn was going with Maggie. She figured she knew why Bumblebee wanted to be around her. She was probably the only one who could understand him and he probably hadn’t been able to talk to anyone for a while now. 

“So,” Epps spoke up as he led her towards a griller near the wall, where someone was cooking food. “I heard ya talking to Yellow, over there. Can you really understand what he’s saying?” He asked as he reached out and plucked two paper plates up before giving one to Anna. 

Anna half shrugged and half nodded. “Yeah, kind of. There’s still a lot of Cybertronian words that I can’t get. But my Master Starscream……” She was saying. 

Immediately, Epps turned around to face her and held up a hand to stop her right there. “Eh, eh, eh. No calling them Masters here. You’re not a slave down with us, girl. They might think all humans are their slaves, but that’s just bullshit. Excuse the language. Them, Decepticons might be bigger than us, but they ain’t going to make us into slaves. Slavery died a long time ago with white folks trying to enslave the black folks. Fuck that, girl. We all equal. I don’t care what those metal tin cans,” He glanced up at Bumblebee. “Not you, Yellow. I don’t care what them, Decepticons think. They ain’t making humans slaves. So don’t be calling that Ol’ Screamer your master down here in the Nest.” He told her before shrugging and handing his plate to the cook on the other side of the griller. “So, it’s Starscream we bust you away from, eh?” 

“Yeah.” Anna said, feeling pretty good about Epps telling her off for calling Starscream her master. She knew that she should have felt embarrassed or something. But she didn’t. She was glad that he told her off for it. “Starscream taught me some Cybertronian. That’s why I can understand Bumblebee. He said he’s not a Decepticon but an Autobot.” 

“An Autobot?” Epps asked, frowning at her while waiting for her to get some food from the good. 

Anna nodded as she glanced somewhat fondly up at the yellow and black being standing behind them. “Yeah. He said that the Autobots are long time enemies of the Decepticons. They’re Cybertronians but they have completely different beliefs than the Decepticons do. And they make the Decepticons worry. That’s why I sent the SOS.” Her face fell at the memory of Will’s reaction to it. “I was….I was just trying to help.” She said, her tone falling a little. 

Epps made a face at her before shaking his head. “Girl, you did just fine. Ignore that sourpuss, Will. He just don’t like any of the robots because of what happened to his wife and baby. He doesn’t even trust Bumblebee and he hasn’t even give him a reason not to.” He shrugged. “Hell, if these Autobots are anything like Big Yellow, they got my trust. If the Autobots really do show up, coming to help free Earth, then Will’s gonna have a lot of ass-kissing to do with you. That is, if they show up and help us. But that’s a pretty big if. Who knows where the hell they’re at. They could be in a completely different galaxy for all we know. They might not even show up in our life time.” 

Anna made a face at the sound of that but nodded in understanding. She knew he had a point. Space was awfully big. So it might have been a while before the Autobots found her SOS and came to earth. She could be dead, as well as every human before they managed to arrive and help them. 

“Hey, Anna.” Sam spoke up as he walked with her and Epps to find a crate to sit at. “I was just thinking. Where did you learn how to fight, anyway? The way that you took on the Reavers last night, you must have had some training.” 

At that very moment, Epps had been shoveling a spoonful of eggs into his mouth. But after hearing that, he inhaled them and started choking, startling Anna, Sam and Bumblebee. Anna started reaching over to pound on his back and help him but he waved her off as he quickly grabbed a small canteen hanging on his belt and quickly took a drink out of it. He still coughed and choked through a bleary eye as he looked at both Anna and Sam. “I’m sorry!” He gasped before taking another drink to help wash down the eggs. He raised an eyebrow from his already wide eyes. “Did you just say Reavers?!” He looked at Anna wildly. “You took on Reavers last night?!” 

Anna made a face as she looked down at her plate and pushed the scrambled eggs around on her plate. She honestly didn’t want to talk about it but since Sam just HAD to mention it, she figured why not. “That’s how Sam, Maggie and Glenn brought me in. They found me being attacked by Reavers right after they broke into Mast…..um, Starscream’s place last night. It was while he was out at some meeting. It just me and Judy, Sam’s mother. They were actually going after her but I used myself to draw them away and eventually they caught up to me.” She shrugged, making a weak smile. “I guess I killed a few. It kind of happened way too fast. I blinded one with a hand shovel. But the last three overpowered me. Sam, Maggie and Glenn showed up before….well, before anything bad happened.” 

“Yeah. But that was really close. We saw what those Reavers was doing to you. It’s just a good thing Maggie’s a good shot.” Sam remarked, stiffly.   
Anna shrugged, weakly smiling at him before looking back at Epps. “Anyway, that wasn’t the first time that I’ve been attacked by Reavers. The first time was about three years ago. Another one of Starscream’s slaves and I,” She gave Sam a look. “Sparkplug, actually.” 

“Oh, man! You know Uncle Sparkplug too?” Sam asked astonished. 

Biting her lip, Anna gave him a weak look. She figured that he didn’t know that Sparkplug was dead. “Three years ago, Sparkplug and I were going on an Energon delivery run. Reavers attacked us. They killed him.” She said, sadly. She looked down when a pained look appeared on Sam’s face. “I’m sorry, Sam. I thought you knew.” She sighed and looked back at Epps, who was watching her carefully. “They killed him and tried to rape me. They would have too but Starscream showed up in time and saved me. He’s been training me every since so I can protect myself from the Reavers. Everything that I know, he actually taught me.” 

“Huh.” Epps hmphed with raised eyebrows. “Well…..I guess those Decepticons are good for something sometimes.” He then made a face as he tilted his head back. “You know what? I remember Starscream. That son of a bitch killed a lot of my friends back when we were trying to hide in Mission City, Nevada.” He glanced at Sam, who nodded as if remembering it too. “He’s one mean son of a bitch. Mean as hell. He’s the one who ruled over the Decepticons when Megatron was a frozen popsicle, didn’t he?” 

Anna nodded as she glanced up at Bumblebee, who also nodded. She also remembered Starscream boasting about it once. He still boasted about how he would be a better leader than Megatron. The thing was, Anna didn’t disbelieve him. She sometimes wondered if Starscream wasn’t wrong. 

“Believe me, Starscream can be really harsh. But even he could have his good days.” Anna said snorting as she glanced over at Sam. She knew that he was going to get a kick out of this. “Actually, Judy was the only person that I know that can yell at Starscream and not get into trouble.” She told them. 

Both Sam and Epps snorted with laughter, though they looked at her with surprise. They could not believe that. 

“Whoa! Are you serious?! My mom yelled at Starscream and she’s still alive?!” Sam asked laughing hard. 

“Ye-ah. She did it a lot.” Anna laughed right with them. “He never got mad at her either. I actually think he liked fighting with her. He found her really amusing. He thought her constant screeching at him was funny or something. But really, out of all three of us; Judy, Jesse and me, he liked me the best.” Her smile faded and she looked away from Sam and Epps. “I don’t….I don’t really know why. I wouldn’t like me. I just kept getting on his nerves during training. I couldn’t face the Reavers he made me fight. I kept freezing up at the very sight of them running at me. I’m…..I’m really terrified of Reavers. I have nightmares about them almost every night. But…..Starscream tried to make me face my fears. It never seemed to work. I would freeze up and he would get mad at me and yell at me.” She told them. 

Both Epps and Sam just watched her with sympathetic looks now. Even Bumblebee was whirling a little as if being sympathetic. 

“Still, I think the main reason why Starscream liked me the most was because when I was sold to him, I was just a baby. I’ve been…..what he calls his property all my life.” Anna said, shrugging and making a face. “He…..he’s kind of raised me. He taught me how to read and write; English and Cybertronian. He talk me how to walk with my mom. Everything I know today is because of him.” 

“Hmm.” Epps said with a strange look. He looked as if he was thinking really hard before he just propped his chin on his fist. “You know what that sounds like? It’s sounds to me that Ol’ Screamer was actually trying to make you his own kid, Anna. He was actually treating you like you were his child or something. That’s really weird, though. I never knew that one of those damn Decepticons could be kind of…..father figure like.” He remarked. 

Rolling her eyes, Anna looked away, her frown almost permanent on her face. “Trust me, Epps. I never saw that asshole as my father figure or anything. I was his pet. His slave.” She said almost reaching back to rub the welts and scabs on her back from being whipped by Starscream. 

“Whatever happened to your real parents, Anna?” Sam asked, though he was definitely trying to be careful about approaching the subject. 

Anna looked away from him, sorrow filling her eyes. This was a memory she tried to avoid. But when saw Sam wince and shake his had as if trying to tell her not to worry about it and answer, she looked back at him and shook her own head. “My father was an American Soldier at the Qatar Forward Operation Base.” She said, glancing at Epps. 

Of course, Epps look surprised to hear that. “No. Shit. Was he really? What was his name? Maybe I knew him.” He said. 

Shaking her head, Anna grimaced. “I don’t know his name. I never actually knew him. I never met him before. I was just a baby when he was killed. Mom wouldn’t tell me his name. Every time I tried to ask her about him, it always hurt her. She would always cry. I hated making her cry so I didn’t really push it too far.” Her face fell at the mentioning of her mother. “My mo-mother was…..” Her voice started to choke up and tears were starting to prickle her eyes. “She and I were sold to Starscream as a pair. Because I was a baby, I needed her.” She lowered her eyes. “I was only with her for the first eight years of my life. And then she tried to take me and run away from Starscream. He caught us and…..he whipped her to death.” She looked at the two men with a haunted look. “And made me watch.” 

For a very long time, Sam or Epps didn’t say anything. They just watched her with solemn looks. Even Bumblebee looked saddened to hear what kind of pain that she had been through during her life. They certainly regretted asking her about her past now. 

But it was Bumblebee who reacted first. 

With a whirl, he bent down and picked Anna up, causing her to squeak loudly in surprise. He just ignored it as he brought her close to his chest armor and hugged her gently with his hands. 

For a moment, Anna stared at him with wide eyes and so did quite a few people. She couldn’t believe that a giant alien robot was actually hugging her, trying to comfort her. She was not used to that at all. But after a moment, her face softened and she had to smile gently. She knew that he was just trying to soothe her pain. It was actually really cute of him. He was actually really cute for an alien robot. She couldn’t help but giggle before wrapping her arms around his metal neck and hugging him right back. Then she reached up with one hand and rubbed the top of his smooth, yellow head. “Awww! You’re so adorable, Bumblebee.” She said then pressing her forehead against his and looking into his big blue glowing eyes. “Thank you.” She whispered to him. 

Making an engine like purr, Bumblebee began to gently rubbed his head against hers, nuzzling her. She laughed and she knew she wasn’t the only one to do it. She could heard Sam and Epps laughing from somewhere down below as they watched the two cuddle a little. 

“Oh, now that’s just SO cute.” 

Anna and Bumblebee both looked down to see that Maggie and Glenn were walking back, along with several others. Apparently, many people had noticed that Bumblebee was trying to comfort her. And they honestly thought it was cute too. Everyone was smiling as they watched the bit of fluff between the two. No one looked disapproving or annoyed at the scene displayed between each other. 

And because of Anna’s trust in Bumblebee, some people began to trust him. 

For after that moment, after that day while living in the Nest, people began waving at Bumblebee when he walked or drove past. People said hi to him when they used to glower after him, watching him in suspicion. Sam had told Anna that not too many people did that before she came around. They didn’t trust Bumblebee because he was an alien robot. 

But after Bumblebee had comforted Anna and she allowed it, a state of trust fell upon many people of the DATAR. They felt like they could trust him now.   
But not everyone welcomed it at first. 

From the other side of the cavern, cleaning his gun, Will was watching the display through wry eyes. He didn’t like it one bit. He wasn’t so sure about Bumblebee. He never had been since that kid (Sam) showed up with it. And he wasn’t so sure about the girl, either. 

The girl. 

There was something ever so familiar about her. There was something that made Will frown and try to think very hard about. He was very sure that he knew her from somewhere. He just couldn’t put his finger on it. He was definitely going to have to watch her carefully. He was going to listen to every word she said, watch every move that she made so he could figure out who she was. 

Because one thing was for sure, it was really, really bugging him.


	9. Chapter Eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A short chapter

It was quite cold and quiet. The only sound that could be heard was the ship’s engines as it floated along the blackness of space. That was the only sound he had heard and been listening to for quite some years now. There was only the rumbling engines, a recharged murmurs from his companions and nothing more. There was nothing else that he had heard for quite some time now. 

So when he awoke to a gentle pinging sound, through the many years of silence and recharge, he didn’t make anything of it right now. He just turned his head and recharged on. 

Ping. Ping. Ping. Ping. Ping. 

The noise was continuous and it was starting to get annoying. 

Finally, glowing blue eyes forced their shutters open and an irritated groan escaped from his voice processor. He was having quite the time to forcing himself out of recharge. But either way, he opened his shutters to see what was annoying him out of sleep mode. The sight that he recognized was the large window showing out into open space. Endless stars was all that he could see, other than the large planet that the ship was drifting a little closer to. He thought that that was what it was. But usually, the ship’s computer AI usually navigated them away such dangers. He could barely feel it starting to turn to move away from the planet. 

So with shrug, he closed his shutters again to go back into recharge. 

Ping. Ping. Ping. Ping. Ping. 

Oh, for the love of Primus!

Groaning again, he flipped his shutters open again and he looked around the ship’s cockpit for the annoying source. He found a blinking light on the control panel and frowned. “Hmm? Incoming message? Could it finally be…..?” He murmured to himself in clicks and beeps; the native language belonging to all like him. 

With a frown, he reached over and tapped the button next to the blinking light. The message immediately activated but it was in a language that he had never heard of before. He frowned deeper as he eyed the speakers before he began going through his personal language directory, looking over two hundred languages that he had downloaded during their travels. 

Five minutes later, he found the matching language. 

Tapping the button again to replay the message, he listened to what was said. He frowned as he listened to it. It was some kind of message made by a femme gender of what he believed to be human of the Planet called Earth. He listened to what the femme had to say in her message. But even as he listened and heard keywords, his eye shutters snapped wider and he hissed to himself. He couldn’t believe this! He couldn’t believe what this human femme was saying in her message. 

‘No! Not message! It’s an SOS!’ He thought frantically before throwing his chair backwards and standing up. 

The news that she was giving him through the SOS was great but terrible all at the same time! 

“Slaggit!” He suddenly exclaimed before he turned and bolted from the cockpit. He knew that he needed to get the big Boss! He needed to hear this!  
Running through metal corridors into a very large chamber of the ship, he ran past many of his comrades as they rested on berths. He heard some of them stir as his metal feet pounding against the metal grates. Some of them groaned and opened their own eye shutters and gave him an irritated look. He ignored them as he ran directly to the next large metal doors that lead into the next room. 

The doors clanged open and he was greeted by the sound of pounding metal. He had to pause and grimace when he saw the team’s medic banging a large wrench over another’s head, yelling at him in their native tongue about how he blew off his arm again. He would really hate to make that certain medic mad. But ignored the two arguing beings as he looked directly at the largest in the room. 

“Sir! Sir!” He clicked, beeped and whirled at the big boss. 

The large Leader turned away from watching the ship’s medic beating on their lead Scientist with the wrench. He looked down at the much smaller officer and frowned. “Hmm? What? What is it, Blaster?” 

“You better come see this, sir! We just received an emergency message sent from a small planet called Earth! It’s from an Earthling, sir! A femme! She’s requesting for some help for Earth’s aid! They’re in grave danger! And we found the Decepticons! She’s telling us where they’re at!” 

That had many of the others jerked around and looked over at him in alarm. The medic even stopped beating on the other to look at him with surprise. But the big Boss frowned before he was immediately turning towards the door. “Lead the way, Blaster. Let’s see this message.” He said firmly. 

Ten minutes later, the massive ship called the Ark was blasting its engines alive and hurtling into space for their new destination.  
Earth.


	10. Chapter Nine

For the next few days, Anna learned how to live in the cavern among her fellow humans. She learned exactly how busy it got around the Nest, helping people a lot as well. She saw it from the first night and first day she started living among them. She saw how much the DATAR rushed around doing things. They were constantly active with making plans of how to destroy the Decepticons or their reserves to making sure that everyone in the cavern survived. The DATAR soldiers were constantly raiding Decepticon facilities and bringing back food for everyone. 

From morning to night and even through the night, all 150 members of the DATAR were working. They worked around the Nest to make it more hospitable and homely for them. They worked on the weapons, trying to enhance them so they could kill the Decepticons. It was mostly there did Anna see Bumblebee. He was constantly showing the soldiers his weapons system so they could work on their own for offense and defense. He even helped with the means of security to protect all of the humans he was around. He did quite a lot to help the humans. She even voiced her opinion about how much he was doing around the Nest and how unfair that he didn’t the credit that he deserved. Everyone mostly ignored her and Bumblebee shrugged if off and told her that he didn’t mind it so much. It was as long as he could be useful and protect Sam, her, and all of the humans that mattered to him. It was all he cared about. 

Anna’s main chore around the Nest was being around him so she could translate whatever he said. It was due to the fact that she was the only one who could understand Cybertronian. She had tried to teach Glenn how to understand the language but even she couldn’t speak it correctly. Bumblebee even commented to her that her way of speaking Cybertronian wasn’t understandable. That left her quite annoyed for a few hours. 

Still, Anna did a lot of hanging out with Sam and Bumblebee. She found herself growing very close to them. They were both very kind to her, as was Maggie, Glenn and Epps. She found all of them kind and caring about everyone’s needs and always went out of their way to make sure people were fine and living comfortably. 

Especially Bumblebee. 

Anna found that the Autobot was very cheerful and he was always greeting her in the mornings. She found herself adoring him every time she saw him.   
However, among all of the people in the Nest, there was really only one person that Anna really wanted to get to know and that was Will. She really wanted to talk to him, learn about his history and just to get to know him. But he never seemed to have time to deal with her. He always had something to do other than even say hi to her. 

Every night, Anna would see Will gathering a group of people; mostly Epps and the soldiers and go out on nightly raids. And every morning, he would return, get some rest for a few hours and then go back to work on maps and plans. He never seemed to have the time to talk to her. It hurt a little but Anna understood why. Will was the Leader of DATAR after all. He had so much on his shoulders right now that he couldn’t afford to get distracted. Especially not by an 18 year old girl. So, she mostly she kept her disappointments to herself, even though that her friends seemed to see right through her. There had been a few times did Maggie or Epps try to get Will to say a few words to her. But it never seemed to help. 

Unfortunately, Anna soon learned that she did not have a lot of fans among the Nest. 

There were a few people who were uneasy about her, due to the fact that she was Starscream’s favored slave. They all knew that the Second In Command of the Decepticons would not give up his slave very easily. And Anna soon learned that the news of her disappearance did not sit too well with her former Master.   
As far as she understood and had heard about, Starscream was above ground, speeding across the skies, searching for her. He had been so angry that she had gone missing. A few of the DATAR scouts who kept a look out during the day had reported that they had seen Starscream a few times, screaming across the sky for Anna. They reported that he was pretty much going mad by looking for her. That really didn’t sound too good to her and she knew that if Starscream ever found her, there was going to be a whole lot of trouble for her. 

But above all of those few who didn’t seem to like Anna, there was one girl that she figured that she should try her best to staying away from. 

Her name was Alice. 

Alice was a little older than Anna, if not just in her mid twenties. She was a very pretty blonde with sun-streaks in her hair. She had rather gorgeous hazel eyes, though they were constantly glaring after her since her first meeting with Alice. And that first meeting had not gone so well. 

Anna had been talking to Sam and Bumblebee, telling them about all of the training sessions that she had been going through with Starscream. She had been somewhat walking backwards, which was dumb enough for her. She hadn’t really been paying attention to where she was going when she backed right up into Alice, knocking the young woman back and causing her to trip over a bag she’d been standing over. The young woman fell flat onto the floor before she whirled around and glared up at Anna. 

“Oh, my God! I am so sorry!” Anna immediately apologized as she whirled around and looked down at the woman. She quickly reached out to help her up. 

But Alice yanked her arm back and slapped Anna’s hand to the side. “Don’t touch me!” She snapped before she pushed herself to her feet. She glared very hard at Anna, who winced and backed away a little. 

“Alice, it was an accident. Anna didn’t meant to run into you.” Sam tried to explain. 

“Right.” Alice said very dryly, though there was a lot of edge to her tone as she continued to glare directly at Anna. She brushed the dirt and tiny rocks from her hands before putting her hands onto her waist. “Maybe she should start watching where she is going so we can avoid ‘accidents’ like these.” She said almost savagely. 

Wincing again, Anna swallowed hard and looked into Alice’s eyes. “I really am sorry. I didn’t mean….” She was saying. 

“Whatever.” Alice drawled viciously before she shook her head. “Just start looking where the hell you’re going, you Decepticon pet.”   
Now Anna looked rather offended and hurt as she looked at her. “Excuse me?!” She demanded.

Alice huffed before she tossed her blonde hair over her shoulder. She actually looked quite smug, yet bitter about whatever it was that she was thinking. “I’ve heard of you. Who hasn’t really? I’ve heard that you were Starscream’s little pet human. You’re his little favorite slave. He would carry you almost everywhere he went, take you out, feed you, clothed you and did whatever you wanted to do. I hear he’s going mad just by looking for you. He’s been searching the entire globe for you.” She said dryly. “I hear he’s also really pissed off that you ran away. Want to hear the worst part, he’s starting to take it out on other humans. You’re like some stupid lost pet that he’s obsessed himself over to finding. He’s not going to stop until he finds you. And if he finds you here and hurts all of these people, you won’t need to worry about him. You’ll need to worry about yours truly.” She said with acid. And then she turned and marched away.   
Anna stared after Alice, completely shocked. She couldn’t believe that woman. She had just threatened her life and for what? For being Starscream’s favorite or knocking her over?! It was completely outrageous! It wasn’t like she had knocked Alice over on purpose! 

“Watch out for that one, Anna. She’s got some real sharp claws.” Anna heard Maggie said as she walked over. “Alice is a real bitch and she’s been like that since she even got here.” 

Anna glanced at her and Sam before shaking her head. She felt as if her breath had just been sucked right out of her lungs after dealing with Alice. “What the hell is her problem?! I didn’t mean to knock her over! And I said that I was sorry!” She said angrily. 

Sam shook his head as he folded his arms over his chest and watched Alice as she batted her eyes at a passing Soldier, making him hesitate and trip over a crate. “From what we’ve heard from her, Alice was one of Shockwave’s slaves. According to her, she was treated really bad.” He shook his head again. “When the DATAR found her, she was covered in blood, starving nearly to death and she was beaten really bad too. Apparently, Shockwave kept forgetting that humans need food to survive and didn’t feed her properly. Either that or he just didn’t care. Eventually, he must have gotten tired of her so he beat her and then gave her to Reavers. She said she killed every single one of them and escaped after they had attacked her. It was Will and Epps who found her on the streets and brought her into the Nest. She’s got a major thing for Will. She’s really sweet on him.” He explained. 

“Pfft!” Maggie snorted as she folded her arms and stuck out her hip to the side. “Will is not the only one that Alice is sweet one, Sam. You’re one of her targets too, remember? She’s been hitting on everything that has balls since she’s gotten here.” She remarked, looking at Anna. “She’s a total slut. She is a total skankzilla.” 

Anna just frowned as she looked after Alice who was proving that accusation by talking to two men at the same time. She was batting her eyes at them and running her fingers through her hair as she flirted with them. One of the soldiers looked uneasy about it while the other was grinning like a mad man. Alice, however, seemed to have sensed Anna’s eyes on her for he turned around and glared directly at her. It was like she just knew or had eyes on the back of her head. 

It was right then and there did Anna know that she was going to have to avoid Alice. There was going to be a lot of trouble between them if she didn’t. And she was not going to like any bit of it. 

 

For the next few days, there wasn’t too much that was different. Anna helped out as much as she could and so far she could only serve as Bumblebee’s translator. She did a lot of talking to him as well. She had finally gotten enough courage to ask him about the other Autobots and what she learned amazed her.   
For many years, many centuries and many decades, the Autobots had been fighting with the Decepticons. They had fought so much on their original planet, Cybertron, that they had literately killed their world. It was after the planet’s death and skeletal remains did the Decepticons decide to leave it to the Autobots and find a new planet to ravage. 

Obviously, they found Earth. 

The Autobots, however, tried to follow after the Decepticons, knowing that if they didn’t, the new world that the Decepticons would find would meet the same fate as their own had. They wouldn’t allow it so they tried to chase after them. They had stretched out far and wide across the galaxy, battling with Decepticons on a few worlds and in space but they could never really find Megatron to deal with him and get rid of the Decepticons for good of all sentient beings.   
The leader of the Autobots, as Bumblebee put it was Optimus Prime, a great and noble warrior on the battle field. He had sent Autobot Scouts, Bumblebee included, to find the traces of the All Spark and the Decepticons. Bumblebee had been chosen to check the regions around Earth. Oh, he had found the Decepticons all right. But before he could send out the word to Optimus Prime and the Autobots, he had been attacked by Barricade and then the top secret Government group called Sector Seven, who eventually used Sam and a girl named Mikaela against him. Eventually, Sector Seven had done some pretty terrible things that forced Bumblebee into recharge or stasis for fifteen years. And it was Sam who had found him. Though, Anna had already been told that.   
The one thing that made Anna very curious was the bit about the girl, Mikaela. She wondered who she was and where she was. She had talked with a few people and none of them had been a Mikaela. She even tried to ask a few people about her and found that hardly anyone knew Mikaela. 

So, Anna decided to ask Sam about her instead. She didn’t get the answer that she was looking for though. 

Sam had gone pretty quiet and somber when Anna asked about the girl, Mikaela. He did not look happy that she even asked about her. He actually looked upset but he made a face to try and hide it. “Mikaela? I haven’t seen her for about sixteen years now. I don’t know where she’s at. The last time I ever saw her was when he got into a huge fight and then I was captured and enslaved to Megatron. I don’t know if Mikaela’s even alive.” He remarked with a sigh. He then faintly smiled as he looked into Anna’s eyes. “But it’s more than likely she’s still out there, alive and all. She was a real tough girl when I last knew here. She could take care of herself just fine. She’s probably out there somewhere, free and fighting. She was always like that.” 

Anna smiled as she watched Sam as he looked away from her. She could tell that he still had really strong feelings for this Mikaela. She could see it in his eyes or hear it the way he said her name. There probably wasn’t even a day that Sam didn’t think about Mikaela. 

Truthfully, seeing that look on Sam’s face as he thought about Mikaela, Anna started to think about Pete again. And that just started up the nightmares once again. 

Anna dreamed of Pete’s death one night. She kept seeing him getting whipped by Starscream and thrown into the Cyber Game Arena to fight the Reavers and Thundercracker. She saw him die over and over again. It was so horrible. Anna knew that she had started crying in her sleep for she could feel the thickness in her throat and feel the tears running down her cheeks. 

So it couldn’t be helped when Anna bolted up right, gasping from fear and emotional pain. She felt her tears mixing with beads of sweat as she panted heavily. She couldn’t believe how vivid that dream had been. 

Anna glanced around her new dug out room she had been staying in since she arrived. She was completely alone in the room and it seriously creeped her out. She wasn’t used to having her own room. She had always shared with Jesse and Judy. She didn’t like being alone. 

Breathing more slowly, Anna climbed off her feet from the sleeping mat and sleeping bag and walked out of her room. She needed some water to drink. Her throat felt really dry from panting and crying in her sleep. Maybe she could find a water canteen somewhere and probably visit the underground river. She made a face to think that she would need to bathe in the river. She remembered the first time she had been shown to it to get washed up. The water had been almost icy cold and that was all that the DATAR could do when it came to washing up. But she honestly felt like she needed to relax a little in the cool water anyway. Maybe it would help take Pete’s death off her mind. 

But she doubted it. 

As soon as Anna left her room, she found out that she wasn’t’ the only one up, which was no surprise. There was always someone still awake in the Nest. She saw a few people up and going and doing things around the Nest. But what had her attention was a group surrounding one of the large trailers. The one that Anna learned that served as the Nest Infirmary and Medical trailer. 

Frowning, Anna made her way over, though redirected herself when she spotted Sam sitting on Bumblebee’s car form hood. Sam was looking grimly at the Infirmary trailer. He didn’t look too thrilled about what was going on inside. And from inside, Anna could hear weak cries while someone was talking rapidly to another person. It sounded like Will talking to Epps. So obviously, someone was hurt. 

“Hey.” Anna said as she looked at Sam before glancing towards the trailer. “What’s going on?” 

Sam looked over at her with the same grim look but he shook his head and folded his arms over his chest. He kept himself propped against Bumblebee’s hood and bumper, still looking at Anna. “You so don’t want to be up right now, Anna.” He muttered before nodding towards the trailer. “Will and some of the others were patrolling the city where we found you and they found a girl. She’s in really bad shape. She’s been ravaged by the Reavers and half of her has been stripped of skin. She’s doing so good at all.” He shook his head again. “She’s awake, obviously from the pain and Will’s trying to talk to her. But none of us can speak Spanish, which is what she’s been sprouting out since she woke up.” 

Anna frowned with a look on her face. “Spanish?” She muttered before she looked towards the trailer. “I know a little. Maybe I can talk to her.” She said before walking over. She ignored Sam’s soft call to her. She just wanted to see who was injured and maybe talked to her. She didn’t know too much Spanish but had learned a little from Jesse. 

Anna approached the crowd around the door, trying to push past. Some of them glanced at her and gave her the benefit by stepping back so she could get through. Some of them tried to stop her from getting any closer to the doorway. But she mostly ignored all of them. They eventually just let her through, figuring that it was her own fault for what she was about to see. 

But then Anna saw her. 

Her breath catching her throat and chest, Anna felt as if she was being choked by horror, itself. She felt as if she was stepping into a complete nightmare. She couldn’t believe that She was here! But why?! How!? She wanted to scream! She wanted to pinch herself and make sure that it was all just a dream! She didn’t want this to happen! Anything else but not her!

“JESSE!!!” Anna screamed in horror.


	11. Chapter Ten

Just by looking at Jesse, Anna knew that her friend was in the danger of losing her life. She could see that. She felt horrified to see how bloody Jesse was. She was a complete mess. She couldn’t help but push past people and rush into the trailer, only to get grabbed by the arm as she tried to approach Jesse on the make shift bed made out of crates and blankets. She turned to glare at the person who had grabbed her and found that it was Will. 

“You can’t come in here right now! Get out……!” Will was scolding her. 

But Anna yanked her arm free from his grip and jabbed a finger nearly into his face. “Don’t, Will! I know her! She’s my best friend!” She snapped at him before she swung around and dropped to her knees right beside Jesse. “Jesse!” 

Examining her very state, Anna could see that Jesse was a complete mess. Not only she was covered in blood, but she was also covered in gashes, cuts and even bite marks. It was obvious that she had been caught by Reavers and they had tried to eat her raw. There were even some chunks missing out of her and it broke Anna’s heart to see her like this. But what really had her attention was all of the lash marks covering her bloodied skin. She looked like she had been whipped badly. She was almost completely naked other than shredded clothes and the blanket covering her. 

“Oh, my god.” Anna cried softly as tears streamed down her cheeks. She looked at Jesse’s face and felt worst. 

Jesse’s face was almost swollen from being beaten. One eye was so swollen in her eye socket that it didn’t even look like an eye anymore. The other was barely open, looking weakly up at Anna. Blood stained the smile that was starting to curl on her face. “Chi…..Chica…..I knew I’d….fi-find you…..” Jesse then choked on some blood, causing her to cough violently. She tried to swallow but ended up gagging instead. 

Painfully, Anna carefully set a hand near Jesse’s head and curled her fingers as if wanting to run them through her ratted and bloody hair. “Jess, wha-what happened to you? Who….who did this to you?” She asked weakly. 

Bloodied tears blinded Jesse’s one good eye as she looked up at Anna with a lot of pain. She seemed to have a very hard time trying to put it into words. “Mast……Master Star……found out about the SOS, An-Anna. They…..the Dec-Decept……icons know what you did.” She choked out over a mouthful of blood. She coughed again, gagging on the foul taste in her mouth. 

“What?” Anna asked weakly and horrified. 

Jesse nodded looking up at her as she began trembling from pain. She was having a hard time seeing her friend through the blood and tears but tried to blink rapidly to rid her of them. “Mast….Master…..Starsc-Starscream……he…..he’s going to kill……kill you……Chica….” She tried to say. “He…..is…..so mad at you ri-right now……He….did…..this….t-to me. He found out that…..that I helped you……so….he beat me…..and threw me to the Reavers……liter….literately.” She gave Anna an even more pained look as she stared up at her. “They……Mega-Mega…..tron…..wants you found and taken…..to him. He said…..he said that he was going……going to kill you…..him…..self.” 

Swallowing hard and through blinding tears, Anna felt as if her lungs were being squeezed. She could only wonder that if Starscream did this to Jesse, what happened to Judy? “Judy?” She asked weakly. 

Jesse did her best to shake her head only to grimace painfully. “……safe….For….now. Frea-freaked out ab-about you……Star-Starscream……won’t hurt her…..unless…..if you’re….found. Judy said…..to tell you….not to give….yourself….up. She don’t…..care if……kills her. You….need to be….safe, Chica. That’s all…..cares ab-about….” She stammered over her weak words. 

Tears running down her cheeks, Anna gently set her other hand on Jesse’s arm, flinching when her friend whimpered in pain. She knew that it was killing her to speak. “Jesse…..” She cried softly. “I am so sorry! This…..this is all my fault! This is all me! I should have never asked you to help me! If you hadn’t helped me, then this would have never happened to you!” She sobbed. 

“N-no…..” Jesse whimpered and smiled weakly. “I……wa-wanted to help you, Chi-Chica…..you’re….you’re my Chica. My…..sis-sister.” She then shrugged very weakly only to gasp in pain. She laid there for a moment, waiting till it passed over again. The smile was back on her face as she looked almost a little smug. “Plus…..told Sta…..Starscream…..to fu-fuck off.” 

Anna felt a burst of weak giggles explode from deep within. She knew she wasn’t the only one to laugh. She heard Epps snort very loudly and try to cover it up with his hand. Even a few snickers echoed into the trailer from outside. She just ignored them as she shook her head and kept sobbing. “Je-Jesse…..you, loco chica.” She said through laughing sobs. 

Jesse giggled once before crying out in weak pain. She closed her eye tightly to wait till the pain passed over again before she looked sorrowfully up at Anna. “Chic-chica……..they…are…coming. They know…..Starscream…..knows…..he is using……a trace…..bug….I heard him say…..that he placed it….in your….tattoo…..He only just…..remembered it......be here….by…..morning……” She tried to tell her. 

Anna stiffened and could feel almost everyone join her. She sensed Will moving closer until he bent right next to her, staring at Jesse with alarm. “What do you mean?” He asked stiffly. 

“……Tat…..tattoo……tracing bug……” Jesse tried to explain as she raised a trembling, almost eaten away hand and pointed at Anna’s shoulder. “…….Starscream…..was the only Dece…..Decepticon to think about it……” She placed her dried yet bloody finger against Anna’s shoulder, near the tattoo that rest on her shoulder blade. “…..heard……bragging….to Thun-Thundercracker…..and Sky…..warp. He…..for…..got about it……till….now. He didn’t…..want to lose……Anna……so he traced her….” She shook her trembling head. “He remembered it…….after beating…..me. He acti….activated it……and he’s……tracing her……” She said weakly. 

Anna felt horrified as she listened to Jesse. She slowly reached up with a hand and placed it against the symbol of Starscream’s name that etched in her skin. She hadn’t known that there was a tracer bug on her. She felt herself panic as she thought about it. “A nanobot……He left a nanobot in me?!” She asked her voice squeaking a little. 

Jesse nodded weakly as she looked up at her through her pain. “Yes…totally…..an…..ass....ole….” She grimaced painfully again. “……like…..said…..Starscream…..just….rem-remembered it…..wise he would have….been here….a long time….go…..” She hissed painfully again and closed her eye tightly. 

“Jesse.” Anna whimpered leaning over her best friend. “I…..”

“Say….sorry…..again……and I will…..be pissed……” Jesse warned her painfully as she looked up at her. “…….not…..your……fault……you…..tried…..to help people, chica. You…..believed in….those Auto-alien……things…..I ju-just…..won’t be…..here to see….them….come.” 

Again, Anna sobbed and shook her head as she let her tears trail down from her cheeks to her neck. She was starting to shake as she realized what Jesse was talking about. “Do-don’t say that, Jesse! You’re going to be fine! You’re going to live to see the Autobots come! They’ll come and save us! We both can help them and D…..DATAR fight the damn Decepticons!” She sobbed hard. 

Jesse smiled weakly up at her and slowly shook her head. “Anna……I’m already……seeing…..I’m already seeing……light…...” Her eye suddenly grew brighter as if she was seeing something amazing as she lift her eye towards the trailer ceiling. “Chi-Chica……..! I see……I see Pete……! He’s……smiling…..at you…….He says….he loves……you…..live……Anna….” She smiled, staring upward. “Live……love…..fight…..with……I….love…..you…..too….sis-sister…….” 

And then Jesse’s chest did not raise again. She stopped breathing and her eye went blank. She was dead. 

Anna burst into heart wrenching sobs as she clapped her hands over her face and laid her forehead against Jesse’s lifeless arm. She felt her heart breaking over again. She felt her heart just shatter like glass that someone had dropped against a hard wood floor. 

First her mother. Then she lost Pete. And now…….she lost Jesse. 

It was all just too much. She was losing everyone she ever loved and held dear to her heart. She felt too much pain and suffering within her, dropped right onto her shoulders. She felt like she was going to break next. She couldn’t do this any more! She couldn’t lose any more people she cared about.   
A burning hate swelled up in her heart as Anna sharply cut herself off from crying. She lift her head and glared at the metal wall on the other side of her dead friend. She felt hate and anger swelling up within her. She knew very well that Starscream had done this! She had once respected him, even if it was forced respect from fear. But now……all she could think of was ripping the Spark out of his metal chest. She was going to kill him!

“Epps.” Will spoke grimly as he remained right beside Anna, probably watching her carefully. He reached up and gently patted her on the shoulder. He finally pushed himself to his feet and turned away from her, facing his own best friend. “Get everyone up. We need to get moving. If what this girl……Jesse just said is true, Starscream is tracking Anna and he knows where we are. We need to leave the Nest. Also, get a volunteer or two to take the body……Jesse out and dig a grave for her. Later we’ll let Anna pay her respects to her after she calms down a little.” 

Epps nodded as he already started to move out of the trailer. He couldn’t find any words to say, no matter how much he wanted to say something to Anna. He tried to form the words but he just couldn’t. He knew that there was nothing that he could say to her to make her feel better. 

However, some of the others just outside of the medical trailer looked uneasy as they allowed Epps to pass by them. Some started muttering to one another, trying to find something to say. Some of them were even muttering how they should get rid of Anna. 

“Will, what about her? She’s what the damn robots want. We should give her to them.” One man said. 

Anna’s head jerked around as she looked at him with shock and outrage. She could see some of the people in the door way nodding as if they were considering what that man said. She couldn’t believe them! She couldn’t believe how heartless they were being if they were considering giving her back to Starscream to kill! Would they seriously do that to her?! Would they give her to that murdering bastard just so they could live for them selves?! Would Will?!

Will glanced down at her almost hurriedly before he shook his head and gave that man a very serious, dark look. “No, Stevens. We are not going to give Anna to the Decepticons. She’s coming with us. She’s a human being. She’s one of us.” He said stonily. 

“But the robots……! That dead girl just said that she’s got a tracing bug! They’ll keep tracking her, following us because of her! We should kill her or just leave her here for them to find!” The man, Stevens tried to argue. 

“You leave her behind, you’ll leave me behind too! I will not abandon Anna to Starscream or Megatron or any of the Decepticons!” Sam said angrily from behind everyone. He sounded shocked and outraged just by what Stevens was saying. He shoved himself off of Bumblebee, who was quick to transforming and glaring down at the man who was making such accusations. 

“We are not leaving anyone behind!” Will said sharply as he turned a glare on Stevens. He couldn’t believe the suggestion any more than Sam or Anna could. “We will figure this out! But we are not killing another human being just to make you feel safe, Stevens!” 

“Kill her, Will! She’s too dangerous!” Another person said, though it sounded awfully like Alice. Which, it was proven that it was a second later. 

“Shut the hell up, Alice!” Maggie shouted angrily from somewhere in the back. “If we have to kill anyone, it should be you, you bitch!” 

“All right, that’s enough!” Will shouted, raising his voice very loud and sounding more like a drill officer. He glared around at Stevens, then to Alice, wherever she was standing and then shoved his fists onto his waist as he stepped out of the trailer in the middle of everyone. Only Anna stayed in the medical trailer, not believing what everyone was saying. “We are NOT leaving anyone behind, killing anyone and we are not having this argument! Got that, Stevens?! So put it out of your damn head, now!” 

“I am NOT dying for that little Decepticon tramp, Will!” The man, Stevens snapped right back at him. 

Gritting her teeth as she listened to the argument, Anna shoved herself to her feet. She just could not believe some people. She couldn’t blame them for being scared and wanting to take any measures to make sure they survived. But they were so ready to sacrifice her to the Decepticons just so they could escape. That was just so sick! It was wrong!

And for what?! 

Because there was a fucking tracing bug in her shoulder?!

Oh, she could seriously fix that. 

Angrily, Anna stomped out of the medical trailer, shoving right past Will and the man named Stevens. She felt someone grab her arm, trying to stop her. But she ripped her arm away from that hand and found that it was the man, Stevens who tried to grab her. She gave him the most deadliest look she could muster up. “Don’t! Fucking! Touch me!” She snarled at him before she marched towards the corner that served as a kitchen. 

“Anna! What are you doing?” Will called after her as he started to follow her. 

Anna shook her head as eyed the many crates with food before she yanked one open and began looking through it. “I saw some guys drinking out of a bottle the other day! Where is the beer or alcohol?!” She asked, nearly tossing bags of food out onto the ground. 

Everyone started at her with shock and alarm as they watched her digging through the crate before she growled in aggravation and began digging through another crate. Will even frowned in alarm as he stopped in his tracks as he watched her. “What?! What are you talking…..?!” He demanded. 

“Ah-ha! Found them!” Anna suddenly cheered, though there was edge to her tone. She stood up, pulling out a bottle of alcohol and looking fondly at it as if it were some kind of treasure. “You are going to solve this problem.” She remarked to it as if it could hear her. She grabbed the lid and quickly unscrewed it. Once it was off, she took a swig out of it, only to rip her mouth away from the opening and gasp and choke. It was some really strong alcohol, though technically, she had never had a drink before. 

Suddenly, the bottle was yanked right out of Anna’s hand and she turned to glare at Will, whom had taken it. 

“What the hell are you doing?!” Will snapped at her as he tried to grab the lid out of Anna’s other hand. 

Anna lashed out and grabbed the bottle, trying to yank it back from him. She ended up have a little bit of a tug-o-war with Will trying to get the bottle back. “I’m killing my senses! I’m just trying to numb my whole body so I won’t feel anything!” She snapped at him. 

“What the hell is that going to help…….?!” Will demanded again. 

But Anna yanked the bottle right out of his hand and danced again from him when he tried to go for it again. She quickly put the bottle’s opening to her mouth and drank deeply. She kept having to move because he was chasing after her, trying to get the bottle back. But ignoring the burning sensation through her throat, Anna downed the entire bottle before he managed to yank it out of her hands. 

“God damn it, Anna! You are too young to be drinking!” Will snarled at her. 

But Anna gave him a dry look as she gave him a wobbly shrug. She didn’t want to argue with him right now. She turned to look at a rather uneasy Bumblebee as he was watching the entire display. “Bumblebee……hic! Oppsie.” She giggled. “Dr-drunk already……” She then shook her head, trying to stay focused. She nearly staggered over to the Autobot, stopping by a crate as she began tugging at the end of her shirt, as if trying to pull it up. “Bumblebee…..I need you to do me a favor.” 

With a swift tug, Anna had her shirt up and over her head, letting her stand right against the crate with only her pants and bra on. She ignored all of the gasps and uneasy looks she was getting as everyone stared at her with alarm. She didn’t even look at anyone else when she heard Will suddenly stop right behind her and stared directly at her back with a horrified look on his face. 

It was because of the criss-crossed scars and scabs all over her back. The memory of being beaten by Starscream and his metal whip. 

Nonetheless, it wasn’t just how scarred Anna was. It was her just standing half naked in front of all of them, not looking like she cared how exposed she was to all of the men all around her. She just dropped her shirt onto the ground and turned over on the crate, bending over it. 

“Bumblebee….hic……Burn off Starscream’s tat-tattoo off my back.” Anna said drunkenly. 

With a sharp whirl, Bumblebee quickly backed away, holding up his hands and shaking his head. He was looking extremely uneasy by what she was requesting.   
“What the hell?! Burn off the tattoo?! Are you crazy?!” Will snapped as he marched over to stand beside Anna. He grabbed her arm, trying to pull her back to her feet after he swooped up her shirt from the ground. “What is burning you going to do to help, Anna?!” 

Sighing impatiently, Anna pushed herself off the crate and gave him a look. “No tattoo, no tracing bug, no problem.” She looked up at Bumblebee. “Burn it off, Bumblebee. It needs to go.” She told him, stumbling a little, even if she was leaning against the crate. 

“Hell yes there is a problem! You! Being drunk! And telling the god damned robot to burn you!” Will argued loudly as he grabbed Anna’s arm again and tried to make her stand. He bundled up her shirt and attempted to shove it back over her head and force her to get it back on. 

“Will you stop it?!” Anna snapped at him as she yanked away, almost staggering over her feet. She almost fell to the ground but stopped when Sam caught her and kept her standing. “I’m solving a problem! Bee, burn off the tattoo!” She said as she pulled away from him and laid back down on the crate.   
But Bumblebee shook his head, whirling and clicking at her, rapidly. He was moving back, further away as he spoke to her.   
Scoffing, Anna lift herself off the crate again, onto her elbow and looked up at him with a dry look. “Bum-Bumblebee, I don’t care if you’re not allowed to hurt humans. That’s….great that you can’t. But I am giving you my permission to burn off this damn tattoo off my back so we can get this fucking tracing bug out of my shoulder. Now please get over here, heat up your cannon really hot and burn off Starscream’s damn brand off of me.” 

Again, Bumblebee shook his head and whirled at her. 

“Why the hell are you……?!” Will was demanding once again. 

Anna turned her drunken look onto him again, looking very impatiently. “Due to the face that I’ve spent my whole life around these damn Decepticons and you lived free and all, I’ll enlighten you on one little thing. Nanobots are used to brand slaves. If Starscream left a nanobot on me, then we have to burn it out. Nanobots are highly sensitive to extreme heat. Burning my tattoo will kill the tracing bug in my shoulder. Either that or make it come out. We will the fucking nanobot, we don’t have a fucking problem.” She looked up at Bumblebee again. “Bumblebee, will you please……..” She was cut off by a loud hiccup and Bumblebee whirling at her loudly. 

The Autobot was shaking his head, whirling and clicking at her as he spoke rapidly in Cybertronian. He was refusing to burn her. 

“Bumblebee,” Anna said impatiently, pushing herself to her feet and folding her arms over her nearly bare chest. “If you don’t do it, I’m going to do it my way and that way deals with the griller, over there. What will do the worst damage to me? You or the griller? Now, I’m trying to come up with a solution and so far, burning the nanobot is the only idea I have.” 

Again, Bumblebee shook his head and clicked at her. He was not going to do this, no matter how much she asked him to do it. 

“Okay! Fine! That’s it! I’m using the grill!” Anna said with annoyance as she shoved herself away from the box and staggered towards the grill. 

But again, Will grabbed her arm and yanked her to a stop. “No! If you don’t stop this, Anna, I swear I’m going to…….” He was saying. 

Yanking her arm back, Anna gave him a dark, drunken look. “You’re going to what, Will? Why do you even fucking care?! So far since I’ve even arrived, you’ve been ignoring me! I just wanted to get to know you and everyone and all you’ve done is look right past me! And you are suppose to be my hero?! Fuck that! If you won’t help me get rid of this fucking nanobot, I’m doing it my way! It has got to go! If it doesn’t, that guy, Stevens is right! Starscream will keep chasing us until he gets me back! And if I’m with you guys when he finds me, he will KILL ALL OF YOU!” She nearly shouted at him. “Now, I’ve got to get this damn bug out of me or I will make you leave me here and let Starscream find me and kill me! But I AM NOT going to be the cause of your god damned death! Got that?!” 

Anna turned sharply away from him and started to march towards the grill but Will grabbed her arm and yanked her to a stop once more. He looked highly aggravated and frustrated as he glared upward at the cavern ceiling. He couldn’t believe he was doing this. “Okay! Okay! I will do it! You are not doing this by yourself! But don’t think for one second that I like this!” He ground viciously at her. 

About a half an hour later, while people were still packing everyone up and getting ready to leave the cavern, Will had a fire going on the grill and he was watching as a knife sat on the grate, slowly turning red from the intensive heat. Anna was sitting on a crate, downing another bottle of alcohol while Epps, Sam, Maggie and Glenn stood over her, shaking their head. They obviously did not approve of this idea at all. 

Once the knife was red hot, Will looked at Anna, shaking his head with displeasure. “You are so going to regret doing this, Anna. And you’re going to regret drinking that second bottle. If it’s not alcohol poisoning that’s going to kill you, it’s going to be that killer hangover you’re going to get by morning.” He told her dryly. “Are you sure……?” 

“Oh, for the love of God, Will! Yes!” Anna said as she looked up at him, definitely drunker than before. She swayed on the crate, having to be caught by both Epps and Sam to keep her sitting on it. “Yes! Yes! Yes! For the thirtieth time since you’ve asked the first time! Yes! You have to BURN the nanobot out!” 

Will glared dryly at her before he grabbed a thick rag next to him and wrapped it around the knife’s handle so he couldn’t burn himself. He could already feel the intensive heat through the fabric, making him grimace. He sighed heavily as he glanced at Epps and Sam, who both looked very grim about this. “Okay. Let’s do this before I change my mind. Epps, Sam, hold her down.” He told them. 

Epps nodded as he helped Anna turn over onto the crate and drapped an arm over her lower back and used his other hand to take the almost empty bottle away from her. He set it down on the ground before grabbing one of her wrists and holding her down against the crate. “Man, I can’t believe we’re even doing this. This is Bull. Shit.” He growled between his teeth. 

“Oh, just shut up and hold me down or else I’m going to thrash around and accidently hit you in the face.” Anna said dryly. 

Making a face at her, Epps applied some weight on her, holding her wrist tight in his hand. Sam groaned as he joined him, pressing his arm against her back and holding her other wrist, keeping her flat against the crate. He had tried to make his protests but it was clear by Anna that she was going to do this. With or without their help. So he traced his hand a little lower until he linked his fingers with her. “Squeeze as hard as you need to when it hurts, okay?” He told her.   
Anna just nodded at him as she rest her chin against the wood of the crate. She swore she was going to end up with slivers in her front. 

From behind her, Maggie and Glenn were moving just a little closer with bottles of antiseptic and aloe Vera ready to use when it was all over. They were looking just as grim about this as everyone else did. Bumblebee was the farthest away, watching as if in pain. He’d been the most vocal other than Will and Sam about what they were going to do to Anna. Of course, no one understood what he was saying but they didn’t need Anna to translate to figure it out. He had tried talking Anna out of it but even he knew that the only way to get a nanobot out of anyone was to burn it. 

Taking a deep breath, Will moved the burning red and smoking blade close to Anna’s back, pausing only for a moment when she breathed sharply from the heat already moving in to her skin. He exhaled a deep breath before pressing his other hand against the valley of her shoulders and pressed down so he could help hold her. “God. This is seriously crazy.” He muttered to himself before he drummed his fingers against her back to get her to listen to him. “Brace yourself, Anna. Because this is going to hurt whether you’re drunk or not. As for those whip marks on your back, you’re going to have to explain them later.” 

“Bull shit.” Anna muttered dryly. She had no intention telling anyone about what Starscream did to her. And she certainly was not going to explain the scars. She wanted to forget it all, not remember it. 

With that said, Will moved the hot blade to her skin, hearing her gasp sharply as she tried to hold in the scream. 

But it was no use. 

As soon as the hot blade began to burn her skin, sizzling against her, Anna could not stop the cry of pain from escaping her before she began to scream. She was trying hard to keep it down but it hurt so bad. She turned her face into her arm and tried to muffle her cries as her skin sizzled by the burning hot blade. The smell of burnt skin immediately rose into the air, making all those around her grimace. But no one spoke as they watched Will press the hot blade harder against the tattoo. 

Anna finally started to jerk and thrash, her back arching to get away from the hot blade. But Epps and Sam held her firmly against the crate. They nearly had to lay on top of her to keep her from moving too much. 

Will grimaced at Anna’s screams as he slid the blade a little against Anna’s skin to get another part of the tattoo. Her skin was starting to turn red and blisters were starting to bubble upward as he burned it. Eventually, he had to turn the knife off as one side of the blade cooled and burned Anna’s shoulder again. Anna only screamed into her arm, trying to fight herself from thrashing too much. Her hand in Sam’s began to squeeze tightly, making him wince as it became iron grip. 

Just then, Anna’s eyes snapped wide open and she screamed a lot louder. Curse words so vile made their way out of her mouth, making a lot of people grimace or wince. She sounded like an animal that was dying. 

A second later, Will saw why. 

As the knife burned Anna’s tattoo, Will began to notice one of the blisters the hot knife created starting to throb. It looked very small, though, and it pulsed as if something was trying to push its way out. He just frowned as he did his best to burn off Anna’s tattoo, watching the blister as it continued to throb.   
That is until the blister burst and blood began to spill right out of her skin. With the blood, very tiny spindles began to claw their way out until a small bead sized robot began to crawl its way out of her shoulder. 

Quickly, Will tossed the knife aside and grabbed at the tiny robot. He could barely get it by how small it was, though. He hissed softly as he felt a sharp pinch in his finger and thumb as the bug tried biting at him or clawing his fingers with its sharp legs. He ignored it as he kept a hold of it and held it up to look at it closely. It was very small, yet not microscopic like he thought it would be. 

With a shake of his head, Will squeezed his thumb and finger together and crushed the tiny robot between his fingers. It felt like squeezing a shard of glass to pieces though, making him grimace as he felt the metal bite into his skin. It was like stabbing his fingers with a sticker weed seed. It still hurt.   
Anna was crying and whimpering from the burn on her back. She was almost slipping off the box now but both Epps and Sam kept her up, keeping their arms around her to soothe her. 

“Maggie.” Will said as he glanced over his shoulder at the blonde. “Hurry and get this burn cleaned up before it gets infected.” 

Maggie nodded and hurried forward to work on Anna’s burn. She glanced at Sam and Epps as they handed Anna off to her. “Sam, will you just hold onto her a little longer. She’s still going to thrash while I clean the burn.” She said before looking at Anna, who was leaning her head against Sam’s shoulder. “Anna, this is going to sting, all right?” 

Anna just nodded as she gripped Sam’s arms and braced herself for the inevitable sting she was about to feel. It cam only a second later as Maggie placed the cool, anticeptic soaked rag against the burn, making her whimper in pain. She did her best not to cry out or writhe. She felt only a little better once Maggie finished with the rag and began gently rubbing aloe vera against her shoulder. 

“So,” Maggie began carefully as she continued with the gel. “What happened? Why are there whip scars on your back?” 

For a long time, Anna was silent. She had been taken by surprise by the question but it still brought pain to her. It was just making her remember Pete’s death. And it hurt a lot worst than the burns on her back. 

Tears stinging her eyes, Anna waited until Maggie began wrapping gauze around her shoulder and back. She waited till she was finished before standing up with Sam’s help. “Nothing. Nothing happened.” She said gravely. 

“Girl, that ain’t nothing.” Glenn spoke up, tilting his head to the side. “That’s bad.” 

Anna shook her head as she turned away from them and carefully began putting her shirt back on. She whimpered in pain as the burns protested against movement. So Maggie began to help her. “Anna, just tell us.” She said gently. 

But the teen girl shook her head again, tears shimmering in her eyes. “Please, don’t. I’m trying not to think about it right now.” She said quietly. And then her eyes snapped wide open and she slapped a hand over her mouth. She quickly stumbled away from everyone as she threw up all over the ground near the wall.   
Sam, Maggie, and Glenn watched her with raised eyebrows and shook their heads. “Two bottles of vodka and now she decides throw up. She actually handled it pretty well. She must have a strong stomach to handle her very first drink.” The blonde remarked as she grabbed a canteen full of water hanging on her belt. 

“How do you know that was her first drink?” Glenn asked, frowning at her. 

Maggie gave him a look and shook her head as she moved towards Anna to give her the water. “I know because she didn’t even look at the bottles she just drank. She just grabbed them and started to down them. Even seasoned experienced drinkers watch what they drink. And not very many would drink two bottles of forty year old vodka. Anna’ll be lucky if she doesn’t get alcohol poisoning after this. But she is going to wish that she was dead when she wakes up in the morning. This is going to be one nasty hangover.” She said dryly as she went over to Anna and help her with the water.


	12. Chapter Eleven

Screaming across the dim, star-crested skies, there was only one thing that was on his processor and that was taking back what belonged to him. He wanted her back! He needed her back! He would get her back! She belonged to him and him only! He didn't care what anyone else said!

After that fateful night of discovering his barracks broken into and that screeching human female came running out in hysterics as soon as he landed, Starscream, once in his miserable life had felt fear strike through his very core for someone else. He never thought he would ever see the day where he was actually afraid for a miserable, pathetic human slave such as Anna. But he had. He was still seeing it even after finding out what kind of deception she had pulled on him. He had placed Jesse down, actually very well nearly threw her to the ground and raced back out into the night to look for his favorite slave. He searched for Anna for hours until he found only a bunch of dead Reavers. There was only one alive but he was in such a sorry state for a son of a glitch. He had had his eyes slashed out.

Using a small Insecticon he kept on his person, Starscream had the small bot burrow into the soft tissues of the rotten Reaver's brains, sorting out through its recent memories before it came spitting back out through the insane man's mouth. He immediately plugged the Insecticon into his systems log to find out what this miserable homosapien had last seen.

Most of the memories contained of this disgusting human's latest kills and rapes that it had made. It was all just a clutter, really. There was nothing that caught the Seeker's attention.

Until moments after.

The most recent memory was of Anna ripped and torn from being attacked by the Reavers. She had been knocked around, scratched and bitten but not worst for wear. She had turned to face the Reaver and his dead companions with a look of rage and hate on her face. Her clothes were torn badly but she was somewhat armed with a small hand shovel, which Starscream spotted on the ground merely feet away from him. The image of Anna showed her hissing at the Reavers to go away and leave her alone. But they attacked her and she bravely fought back.

A spark of pride swelled up within Starscream. He felt proud of his little Anna for facing her fears to defend herself. She viciously attacked the attackers, slashing out this Reaver's eyes with the shovel.

The memory went dark but not the sound.

Starscream could hear Anna fighting through the Reaver's memory screams. She was fighting the Reavers until she started screaming. He could hear her get knocked to the ground and trying to fight the vicious Reavers off. It struck fear through the Seeker, making him growl angrily to imagine what was happening to his slave. He knew that she was about to get raped and eaten. He felt so angrily to think about it that he stomped hard on the living Reaver, crushing him into bloody jelly.

And then there was a gun shot, startling Starscream's attention back to the gathered memory still flowing out of the Insecticon. He listened hard to what was happening.

Anna had….she had been saved. She had been saved by…..

And then Starscream snarled in rage as he heard other voices through the memory. He could hear Anna still quite afraid but she was calming down by three distinctive voices. He recognized only one of them and it seriously pissed him off. She had been saved by those ridiculous human rebels, the DATAR!

After that, Starscream continued his search for Anna. He would not stop until he found her. He refused to. He was going to find her, kill those human rebels and take back what was rightfully his!

But things got worst after that.

After only a few days of searching the entire formerUnited States, looking for Anna, Starscream had been called back to Megatron. He was in a snarling rage by that time. He did not want to go back to that fragnut! He wanted to search for his beloved slave! But unfortunately, Megatron made it an order so he had no choice but to go back to Megatron's citadel. He stopped his search for now to go find out what the frag that despicable Decepticon Leader wanted.

It was there that annoyingly know-it-all Soundwave announced the worst thing that ever could happen to all Decepticons. He had discovered an unauthorized message sent out, drifting in the reaches of space. A human had sent out an SOS for any kinds of help and that had all Decepticons, even him, stiffening to think that the SOS was meant for those pathetic Autobots. Soundwave even mentioned, though gravely, that he managed to track the SOS source and stated that it lead straight back to Starscream's own personal communications system.

Rage was all that Starscream felt after looking at the SOS that had been sent out after he demanded Soundwave to explain. How could she do this to him? How could she betray him like this? Anna had sent out that fragging SOS! He knew why she did it too! He knew who she was trying to contact! It only took beating it out of that stupid human girl, Jesse to confess what she knew! He felt so much anger explode right out of him.

He was going to kill Anna for this! He was going to beat her until she was dead!

Thus began the search.

After beating Jesse nearly to death with his own claws and then with his wire whip, Starscream remembered about the tracer nanobot he had left in Anna's tattoo. He immediately activated as soon as he gathered Thundercracker and Skywarp to join him in the search.

As soon as he had the signal, Starscream and his fellow Seekers took to the air and began speeding across the night turning into morning sky to where the signal was coming from. He was cursing his slave the entire time. He was so going to beat her for this!

During the entire flight, Thundercracker and Skywarp chose wisely not to tell Starscream to knock it off with all of his cursing. They knew what Anna had done was the ultimate betrayal to her master. She may have just as well brought THEM to Earth. But it was Megatron's fury that scared them the most when he had found out that it had been Starscream's slave who sent an SOS out. Everyone knew that it made the Decepticon nervous about the Autobots finding the pathetic human's SOS. If it brought the Autobots to Earth, that would mean that miserable Optimus Prime would be coming! And everyone knew that it was the Prime that made him nervous. He immediately demanded that the Decepticons spread out and searched for her. He demanded that if she was found that they bring him straight to him. He was going to punish and kill her, himself. But Starscream made it clear to his aerial brothers that he was going to ignore Megatron's orders to handing Anna over to him so that he could kill her for what she had done. Starscream made it in his mind that he was going to be the one to find her and deal with her as he saw fit. He didn't care how much it would piss off Megatron. Pissing him off was just a bonus.

Suddenly, Starscream jerked in the sky, narrowly missing a high dead pine tree they had just been flying over.

"Starscream! What is it? What's wrong?"Thundercracker called to him through their com links.

Starscream just cursed loudly as he began to speed up. He sounded pissed off, yet surprised all at once."I lost the fragging signal! It's been disrupted or destroyed! Those fragging human rebels must have found the tracer bug on Anna! Hurry it up! We need to find their location before they disappear!" He roared angrily.

Not long after that, the three Seekers found the destination where Starscream last seen the signal. It was in a mountain side just miles away from the Starscream's city. They began shooting the side of the mountain, looking for the weakest point so they could make an entrance. They found it just fine. Exploding through the underground cavern, the three Seekers crashed through before yanking up their cannons, ready to fire and blast anything they saw away. They were ready to destroy some human rebels and punish that glitch who had sent out the SOS.

But the cavern was empty of organic life.

There were only two large metal trailers in the center of the cavern and several empty crates. There were no signs of human life. No anything. It looked like the humans had left in a hurry, due to the fact that they left a lot of things behind. They took only food and whatever else they could carry on foot. There was nothing left for the three Seekers to destroy.

"FRAGGIT!" Starscream roared before he stomped over to one of the metal trailers and kicked it hard, sending it crashing hard against the cavern wall and causing it to half way collapse. "ANNA! DAMN YOU!"

Eyes shot open wide and a gasp escaped her as she jolted upward right out of her slept. She had felt a bump and it had startled her out of her nightmares she had been reliving. Anna almost didn't know where she was until she looked up. She had started to panic when she found herself looking up into slow midmorning turning into afternoon sky.

But then she saw Bumblebee look down at her with his bright blue eyes.

Then Anna remembered. And she wished that she hadn't woken up just now because a wave of nausea hit her, making her lay back against Bumblebee's curled fingers and groan. She felt sick to her stomach and her head was pounding as if an angry goat was trying to break out of her skull. She felt as if someone was clubbing her over and over with a spiked club. And worst, she felt like she was extremely sore and achy.

"Morning."

Anna grimaced, flinching away at the sudden noise before she turned a dry but pained look up to Sam as he was sitting on Bumblebee's shoulder, propped up against one of his doors that looked oddly like wings. He was smiling faintly at her before he carefully climbed down onto Bumblebee's other hand and sat near her. "Do you have to be so loud?" She grumbled at him.

Smiling apologetically, Sam reached into his somewhat baggy jean pockets and pulled out a small bottle of pills before holding it out to her. He used his other hand to pull off a canteen full of water and handed it to her next as she tried to unscrew the lid off the pills. "That's what you get for drinking alcohol. Not going to do that again, are we?" He asked, teasingly.

Giving him a wry look as she popped two pills into her mouth before drinking from the canteen, Anna shook her head. "Hell. No." She grumbled at him. She swallowed the water and pills before looking around with a somewhat bleary look. She noticed that the entire group was marching into the wilderness, away from the small mountains she recognized just outside of the city that she lived in with Starscream. "Where are we going?"

Sam glanced around as he leaned back against Bumblebee's chest before taking a deep breath and shaking his head. "Not too sure. Will and Epps said that we're going to a second DATAR base that's somewhere in Minnesota. A friend of theirs runs that rebel base. I don't know who it is though. They haven't exactly said what their name was." He shrugged, looking back at Anna. "But it'll take us about two weeks to get there on foot. We just have to keep ducking and hiding when we see Decepticons. And fight off any Reavers if we see them. But I kind of doubt we'll see any out here. They mostly stick to the cities where there are more people. It'll be rough but if we all work together, we should make it."

Anna slowly nodded as she took it in. She knew they would have to be very careful since they would be out in the open. There wasn't a whole lot of cover for them as it was. It was risky letting Bumblebee be in his bipedal form too. If a Decepticon was flying over head, they would notice him immediately. She knew if they were going to head to Minnesota, they might just as well travel through Chicago and that was going to be a huge problem. She knew who ruled there.

And that was Shockwave.

Thinking of the vicious Decepticon, Anna glanced around until she spotted Alice walking with a group of men, flirting with them once again. She couldn't help but roll her eyes. She knew that things would be pretty tough for Alice to return to Chicago since that was where her former Master lived. But she was sure acting like she didn't care either way. She had met Shockwave at least twice and never liked him. He was Megatron's Third and he was ruthless and highly dangerous. Shockwave was calmer than most Decepticons but he was still very vicious.

"So, what do we do until then?" Anna asked as she drank some water.

"Just keep walking, living. Hide, fight when we need to." Sam said with a shrug. "That's all we can do right now. Now and then when we stop, the soldiers and DATAR members will train some of us. But that's about it."

Curiously, Anna looked at him. She was somewhat surprised by what he said. "Train? You mean to fight? They do that out in the open?" She asked him.

Sam shrugged. "Well, yeah. How else do you think we learned how to fight and shoot? Will and Epps and some of the Soldiers even taught me how to fight hand to hand. They even taught me how to shoot. Of course, we don't use the real guns. They have paintball guns too. That's what we use as bullets. That way it's quieter and it won't attract attention." He told her.

Biting her lip, Anna looked down to where Will was walking with Epps. She wondered if she could convince them to train her too. She was tired of being weak and helpless. She wanted to know how to defend herself. "Do you think….." She started before looking at Sam. "Do you think that they could teach me how to fight and shoot?" She asked him.

"One way to find out is ask them." Sam remarked with a shrug. "But even if they don't, I can teach you a few moves. I'm not the greatest, I'm afraid. But I do know how to shoot a gun. I've even had a few pointers from Bee, here."

Anna smiled at him and nodded. She was glad to hear that. She would love it any other way. Just as long as someone could teach her how to defend herself. "That'd be great. Thanks, Sam." She told him.

Sam just smiled at her. But then his smile faded away as his eyes flickered towards Anna's covered back, already thinking about all of the scars that she had. "Um….Anna? Everyone's been kind of…..asking about your scars. Even Will wanted to talk to you about it. But Maggie won't let them. She's kind of become really protective over you. So can…" He made a face as he thought about it. "Can I ask about…..?" He was saying.

But Anna shook her head as she turned her gaze away from him, wincing only a little as it stung within her chest. She brought her knees up to her chest, resting her chin on her knees. "I really don't want to talk about it, Sam. It's just too painful right now."" She told him quietly.

Sam winced as he pulled back a little. But he couldn't help by pry just a little longer. "It was Starscream, wasn't it? He did that to you." He said, carefully.

Again, looking away from Sam, Anna felt her eyelids grow heavy with grief. She did not want to carry this conversation on at all. All she ever wanted to do was forget it. Even though she never would be able to. So she just gave her head a light bob, confirming Sam's question.

Bumblebee then beeped and whirled, sounding very sour.

Not helping it, Anna lift her head and smiled up at him. She just shook her head as she reached up and patted his chest armor. "No, Bumblebee. That's okay. I don't want to you fight Starscream and kick his aft. I don't want you to get hurt." She told him but smiled even more when he beeped at her. "No. I have complete faith in you. I know you can kick Decepticon aft. If you can take on Barricade, then you are really tough. But I just don't want you to get hurt by Starscream." Her face fell again as she looked away. "I've lost too many people to him." She admitted.

Bumblebee and Sam looked at her sadly but not surprised. They both had figured there was a lot more to Anna's relationship with Starscream then she was letting on about. They knew better than to ask any more. It was causing too much pain to Anna.

So instead, the Autobot snorted before his radio clicked on, playing a song through it. It was from Linkin Park's Wretches and Kings. "Steel unload. Final Blow. We the animals take control! Hear us now. Clear and true. Wretches and kings we come for you." Bumblebee played loudly, making a lot of people all around them jump and look at him in surprise.

But both Anna and Sam laughed as they understood what he was trying to say. They also noticed how Will was eyeing Bumblebee with discontent and annoyance because of the noise he was making. But Anna just shook her head as she laughed. "It's okay, everyone. He's just saying how Decepticons shouldn't push humans around. He's saying that we're going to teach them not to mess with us." She told everyone.

A few people just smiled and nodded in agreement. But Will narrowed his eyes at the Autobot before shaking his head as he turned and kept walking.

Anna couldn't help but make a face after him. She didn't need him to say anything to know that he still disapproved having Bumblebee around. She felt annoyed that he didn't trust the Autobot. Even if he was an alien robot. She just couldn't see why. Bumblebee may have been an alien robot but he was so kind and caring and so innocent like. He was there, with them, the humans. He was trying to protect them. He wasn't trying to harm them or try turning them into slaves. So what the hell did Will expect from him? What did Bumblebee have to do to gain his respect and trust?

And why the hell did he keep staring at her?

There had been numerous times that Anna caught Will watching her. She couldn't help but fell like he was waiting for her to do something stupid. It was either he expected her to be some kind of spy or he knew her from somewhere. She felt like he didn't trust her any more than he trusted Bumblebee. It was seriously getting on her nerves. So what did she have to do to gain his trust?

Honestly, she didn't know and she couldn't even imagine what would happen if she didn't gain his trust. Even after she had him burn her scar and kill the tracing nanobot. It was getting very frustrating.

As it was, the group of 151 humans and one Autobot walked on for the next few days. Not much went on other than that. Anna had finally decided to walk after ridding herself of that killer hangover. She wanted to prove that she wasn't weak or incapable of surviving. She had seen a few people whispering and watching her with wry looks. And she heard a few complaints about how she was riding with Bumblebee instead of walking like them.

The starting point had been Alice. She had been the first to complain about Anna. She didn't keep it quiet either. She talked with others, mostly the men about how Anna got to ride the giant alien robot while everyone else walked.

"She acts like she's some kind of Princess or something." Anna heard Alice say to a few people. "She thinks she's better than us. She rides, we walk. She's so stuck up."

Glaring after Alice, Anna started walking.

Still, because of Alice, not many would talk to her. The only people who talked to Anna was Sam, Bumblebee, Maggie, Glenn and even Epps. Not even Will would talk to her, even though he was trying to lead everyone to their destination. It was so frustrating and infuriating. Eventually, Anna overheard a few of Alice's followers start calling her Princess Pain In the Ass behind her back. They were trying to keep it quiet and away from her but she still heard them. She hated it every time they called her that or 'Her Highness' and it was driving her nuts.

So, Anna decided to talk to Alice about how she was behaving and treating her.

It happened one night about a week while traveling, when the group made camp for the night under a few desert trees. Anna had been sitting with her friends, listening to them share a few stories. But she saw Alice walking over to a soldier and start flirting with him, she decided it was time to confront her.

So she stood up and made her way over. She was sure some of her friends were watching her but she didn't pay them any mind. She just waved at Alice to get her attention. "Hey, Alice?" She asked. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Rolling her eyes, Alice made a very impatient sound as she waved a hand at the soldier as if dismissing him. Even he had to give her a dry look for it before he walked away. "What do you want?" She asked Anna with annoyance.

Anna frowned at her before she folded her arms impatiently and stuck out her hip. "Alice, I just wanted to apologize for whatever I did to make you mad at me. I don't know what I did but the way you're treating me is totally unfair. What did I ever do to you to make you so…so….hateful?" She asked.

"You live."Alice said immediately after Anna got the word hateful out.

Now staring at her with wide, surprised eyes, Anna felt as if she'd been hit in the chest by this other blonde. "Wh-what?" She asked, stunned.

Alice sighed heavily and impatiently as she copied Anna's stance, possibly mocking her. "I said, you live." She said in a savage way. "You're very presence here offends me. You offend me. You and your stupid, monkey looking face. You came here to DATAR, thinking you had it all bad with Starscream. I've heard it all about you. You lived in an actual house with him. He treated you like a cute little pet." She told her coldly.

"Th-that is not true!" Anna said, tears prickling her eyes as she looked at Alice with unfairness all over her face. She couldn't believe on how much this girl hated her when she had done nothing to her.

Alice snorted as if she believed that. She shook her head, raising a pencil thin eyebrow. "Oh, no? If that's not true, then let me tell you all about my life with Shockwave." She said coldly before she tilted her head to the side and mockingly. "I was Shockwave's little slave. His favorite toy to play around with. And if you think that was a good thing, think again! Shockwave is a scientist, Anna. He likes to play around with humans like they were experiments. He made them do things they would never, ever do or could do. He made me have sex with men every day since I was ten years old! He was studying the human mating process so he could figure out a way to suppress the birth rate for humans!" She then jabbed a finger into a shocked Anna's face. "You lived in a fragging house, Anna! You had a warm bed! You had food! You had it all, even if you didn't see it! But me? All I ever had was a cage and a raggy blanket to keep me warm! I lived in a fucking cage! I was put into other cages where men would rape me all night long! All because Shockwave threatened that if we didn't have sex, he would kill us! I was a lab rat! I've been raped so many times that I've lost count! I've been pregnant four times in my miserable life! Two of those times ended up being miscarriages! One ended up as a stillborn! And the last was still a fetus when Shockwave cut me open and took it out so he could study it! When he finished studying it, he squished it like an over ripe grape between his god damned fingers! And I had to watch it happen!"

Anna felt her heart shattering as she listened to Alice's story. She felt so terrible for her. She felt as if she was a bad person for having a better life with Starscream than this girl had with Shockwave. She couldn't help but shed a few tears, letting them spill down her cheeks as she listened toAlicerant and rave at her.

"So when I hear you say how you had it hard with Starscream, that you had to escape because your fucking boyfriend was killed in the Cyber Games, it just pisses me off!"Alice said with acid. "You have NO idea how hard life is for other people, Anna! Because there are dozens of other human beings like me, women who are going through the very same thing that I did! Right. Fucking. Now! But you," She hissed. "You are having this pity party about yourself, crying about how scarred up your back is, how you lost everyone you ever loved, how scared you are about how Starscream is going to find you! Grow up, Anna! Stop thinking only about yourself! Your life was not that bad with Starscream! And now that you've run away from him, he's looking for you, hunting all of us for YOU! And he will find you! And when he does, he's going to kill all of these people just to get to you! And if he kills Will or Epps, it will be all your fault!" She snapped.

Anna stared at Alice with hurt and alarm. She felt some truth behind her words. She knew that if Starscream would find her, he would kill everyone. He would continue to look for her until he found her. And she felt as if Alice had had a point. She had been more worried about herself being found. She had been pitying herself because of what she had been through. She didn't even think of asking anyone else about their stories.

Tears blinding her, Anna slowly backed away from Alice and turned away. She knew it was true. She was endangering all of the 150 lives. She was endangering Sam, Maggie, Glenn, Epps. She was endangering Will. And even Bumblebee.

The weight of guilt and disgrace heavy on her shoulders, Anna turned sharply and hurried away from Alice. She felt the flood of tears burst out of her as she hurried away from the camp. She couldn't face her friends. Not right now. Not after all that Alice just told her.

After a half an hour of sitting by herself, in the dark, away from the camp, Anna had cried on a rock. She felt so horrible. She felt like she was such a bad person for putting all of these good people in such danger. There was only so much she could take and that was one thing she couldn't.

Would it have been better if she wandered off, by herself into the wilderness? Would all of her friends be safe if she done that?

"Maybe Alice is right." Anna sobbed softly to herself. "Maybe it would be better if I were gone, away from all of them."

"Hey! What are you doing out here by yourself? It's dangerous!"

Gasping, Anna jumped when she heard Will's voice. She jerked around to see him coming up behind her, seeing him with a rifle in his hands. He must have been patrolling around the camp, making sure it was secure and safe for everyone when he spotted her.

Sniffing and wiping away her tears, Anna pushed herself to her feet. "Noth-nothing. I'm sorry. I'll…..I'll g-go back." She said, hating herself when her voice broke.

She was just about to pass by Will when he caught her arm and stopped her from leaving. He made her turn to face him. He was frowning with surprise and suspicion as he eyed the tears staining her cheeks. "Why are you crying? What happened?" He asked seriously.

Shaking her head, Anna lightly pulled her arm free and looked away from him. She did not want him to see how weak and pathetic she was. She didn't want him to see the shame she felt. "No. I'm not….I'm not crying. I'm fi-fine." She told him cursing the sob that manage to break out of her. She turned away again to hurry away, wanting to get away from him.

But again, Will grabbed her arm and stopped her from moving away. He stared her directly into the face, studying her eyes before he slowly began to look concerned. "No. You are not fine. Tell me what's wrong." He told her.

Again, like a flood, Anna burst into tears before she whirled away from him and dropped down into a fetal crouch at his feet. She covered her face with her hands, wanting to hide from him. "I…..! It's everything! It's me, Will! I'm what's wrong! I'm…..I'm putting everyone here in dan-danger because Mast-Master Starscream will not stop hunting for me! He'll find me and kill everyone!" She sobbed hard. "I should have never come here! I should have just died by those Reavers! Then all of you would have not had to leave your home and you would be safe! I'm so weak! And stupid! I wish I was dead!"

For a very long moment, Will didn't say anything but just stared down at her. He wasn't entirely sure what to say. He didn't know how to make Anna fell better. It had been a long time since he had to deal with a crying girl. He was a hard bitten, tough soldier who dealt with the war. Not girls. It had also been a long time since he even felt his heart even go out to anyone.

Sighing slowly, Will carefully bent down and placed the rifle down beside him before plopping down beside Anna, resting an arm on one knee. "No, you're not." He remarked, making Anna peer through her fingers at him in surprise. "You're weak and you're not stupid. So I don't want you to say that again."

"Hu-huh?" Anna asked, alarmed.

Shaking his head, Will looked at her with a semi-soft look. "Anna," He began carefully. "No matter what, we are all in danger. No matter if Starscream is looking for you or not. You are not endangering us when we're already endangered. We are living in a world full of darkness, hate and fear. We are in danger no matter what or who is threatening us." He shook his head again. "But we can't just dwell on that. We have to be strong and keep on fighting. We have to face up to the Decepticons, stand up for our freedom and life. If we don't do that, then we don't have a purpose in life. You are just as strong as everyone else here. You are no different. It's okay to cry, Anna. It's okay to be afraid. Just be sure that when you're done, be ready to fight for you life." He gave her a faint, crooked smile as he shook his head. "And I know I'm a hard ass, but I don't regret meeting you. I'm glad you're here. So is Epps and everyone. And I will protect you from Starscream, got that? You and everyone. No matter what happens."

A sad smile touched Anna's lips but she shook her head. "Bu-but you don't even know me. You don't know how…..how I can't fight. And every time I try, I freeze up. I….will freeze up." She said weakly.

Will shrugged as he looked upward at the night sky, watching as shooting stars began entering Earth's atmosphere. "We have plenty of time to get to know each other. I'm sorry that I haven't been all that nice to you, Anna. It's just….." He sighed softly. "I guess I'm just letting my past get to me. You remind me…" He made a face. "You remind me of someone that I once knew." He told her quietly.

"Um…was it your wife?" Anna asked carefully, making a weak look at him.

Slowly, Will nodded as he kept his eyes adverted away from her. "Yes. You actually…..look a lot like her when she was your age." He told her quietly. "That's…..kind of why I've been doing a lot of staring at you. It's funny how this world works. You meet a complete stranger and they look like someone you loved." He smiled faintly at her. "I miss her a lot. And my baby girl." He shook his head. "My baby girl…..I never really got to meet her face to face. I never got to hold her. And all of that," His face darkened as he looked away from her again. "It was taken away from me when these damn Decepticons showed up and killed her. That is the thing that I regret the most. It's not holding my baby before she died."

Anna looked at him sadly. She felt quite terrible for him. She couldn't help but pity him as she listened to him talk about his wife and baby girl that he lost. She heaved her own sigh and looked away from him. "I….I never got to meet my dad either. He died when I was really little. He was killed before I even got to know him. I didn't even know his name." She admitted quietly.

Will glanced at her before he faintly smiled and then plopped a hand right onto her head, ruffling her hair and making her squeak at him. "That's too bad. I'm sorry. He would have been pissed at what he's missing out on." He smiled at her when she gave him a wry look. "He would have been proud to have you as a daughter. You're a lot stronger than you make yourself out to be."

Smiling back at him, Anna shook her head as she folded her legs and folded her hands into her lap. "It's okay. I…..never knew him. So I can't say…..I can't say that I really miss him." She shrugged lightly. "But…" She made a weak face. "I…..it would have been cool with me if you were….my dad. Or at least he was more like you." She told him, feeling embarrassed.

Snorting, Will shook his head as he gave her a dry but faint smile. "Trust me, kiddo. You do not want your dad to be like me. I'm a hard ass, I'm impatient and I can be quite an asshole sometimes. As you probably noticed. I'm sorry for being an ass to you." He then grinned at her. "And, starting tomorrow, at Dawn, we're going to fix you not being able to defend yourself. Starting at Dawn, you're going to start training how to fight."

"HUH?" Anna asked, completely surprised.

And because of that surprising turn of conversation, both of them missed the flash of red in the distance before the Decepticon burrowed back into the ground.


	13. Chapter Twelve

As it turned out, Will had been serious about starting to train Anna. She learned that two hours before dawn when he shook her awake. She had muttered incoherently at him and tried to go back to sleep but he was persistent and kept shaking her until she got up. She wasn't happy about having to get up so early but she knew she'd better. She wanted to learn how to fight and defend herself and she was not about to blow it just because of how tired she felt.

Anna soon discovered that she was not the only one who was up and awake, ready to train with Will, Epps and the soldiers.

All of her friends were awake and standing around with a few others, stretching as if they were expecting to work out. They looked tired but were more awake than she was. They greeted her with warm smiles and waves, which she returned in a very weary way. Even Bumblebee was up and watching from off to the side, though he was in his Camaro form again. Anna only knew that he was awake because he whirled his morning greeting to her as she joined everyone. He was helping with the lighting with his head lights spilling into the area for everyone to see.

But to Anna's greatest dismay, among everyone that was standing off a little ways from the camp was Alice. She was also training with them and Anna wasn't too happy to see her. Not after the confrontation she had had with her just the night before. She wasn't enjoying the acid like look thatAlicewas shooting at her either. She didn't look happy that Anna was training with them, or was even around.

But after Maggie joined Anna's side, shooting her own acid like look back at her, Alice stopped glaring at them and turned her attention onto Will as he motioned for everyone to make a large circle around him and Epps.

"All right, everyone. Morning. Before we get started on training, we're being joined by our newest DATAR member, Anna." Will remarked before looking straight at her. "Anna's decided that she wanted to learn how to defend herself, just like everyone. Eventually, when she's trained enough, she might even decide to start helping us on missions. But she doesn't know exactly what we do to train. So we're going to start with the basics right now." He cleared his throat and took off his heavy military jacket and tossed it to the side, where his pack laid. "Anna, since you basically don't have any knowledge of fighting, we're going to start with the number one thing you must know. And that's hand to hand combat. That's always the starting point. You need to know how to move and move fast. So we're going to show you how to do that. Epps and I will give you an example of how we fight hand to hand. It's going to look pretty serious between me and Epps when we show you but don't worry. Most of the moves we're going to throw at each other are being pulled. We never use excessive force against each other while training. But it don't mean it's not going to hurt." He warned her.

Slowly and uneasily, Anna nodded. She wasn't so sure that she was going to like this at all. But she wouldn't make a decision not to train just yet until she saw what Will and Epps had to offer.

With a nod, Will glanced at Epps as they turned to face each other. They just stood stone still, looking as if they were staring each other down. They didn't even look like they were friends any more as they looked stonily at one another. They were looking at each other as if they were enemies.

As if someone had said go or there was some kind of signal, both Will and Epps snarled at one another and charged each other. They both threw fists at one another, though both blocked each other. Anna had tensed up to see how serious they were fighting each other. She watched with wide eyes as they threw punches and even kicks. They didn't even look like they were pulling back any of the hits at all. Some of them even met their mark, making one or the other grunt as they went spinning away before charging again.

Just as he ducked under Will's swinging fist, Epps threw himself forward and drove himself right into his friend's stomach, causing him to grunt loudly. Epps did not stop there as he lift Will up onto shoulder and drove him backwards several feet before throwing him over his back, making him land hard on his back behind him. Without hesitating at all, he whirled around tried to kick his best friend in the side. But Will quickly rolled feet over his head and dodge the kick before he kicked a leg hard right into Epps's and swept his feet right from under him, making him land hard on the hard ground. He gasped a little from the air being knocked out of his lungs before swinging around onto his knees and facing Will, who was now in the same crouch as he was, looking ready to charge again.

A short moment passed as they just faced one another before Will shook his head and pushed himself to his feet, offering his hand to Epps', who took it immediately and stood up with them. They both grinned at one another and then embraced each other like brothers before turning to face Anna again. They were only barely out of breath, but they couldn't help but chuckle when they saw the highly uneasy look on Anna's face.

"Okay." Will remarked, smiling with amusement. "That's how we fight. We fight fast, use all of our strength and we're not prone to fighting dirty. If it protects you, then you can use whatever you want to defend yourself." He then motioned Anna forward, though she was very hesitant about doing so. "Anna, basically, right now, we're going to see what skills you do have right now. You're going to spare with me. I want you to do everything that you can to defeat me. You can hit, kick, bite, scratch me, do anything to defend yourself from me. Act as if I'm an enemy that is trying to hurt you. All right?" He told her.

Right here?" Anna asked uneasily. "In front of everyone?"

Will just nodded with his hands hanging at his sides. "Yup. Here, in front of everyone. You are going to defend yourself from me. Now, I'm not going to actually hurt you, but I want you to act as if I am. Take your stance and ready yourself. Now." He told her as he hunched his shoulders, looking as if he was a predator that was about to pounce on her.

Anna just nodded as she raised her somewhat shaking fists and tried to ready herself. She was very unsure about this. She wasn't sure if she wanted to face off with Will. She knew that she was just going to make a fool out of herself.

And before she knew it or could even be ready, Will charged at her. She squealed in alarm as she tried to retreat away from him but he was on her too fast, grabbing her arms and swinging her right over one of his legs, tripping her and sending her sprawling to the ground.

"Ow!" Anna groaned as she knocked some air out of her before she gave him a disgruntled look. "I wasn't ready."

Will snorted as he bent over her, his fists on his waist and shaking his head. "Anna, no one is ever ready for a fight. No one can ever be ready for an attack. It can happen at any moment, any time. You just have to be fast and you have to be ready at all times. No matter what." He reached down and took her hand, pulling her back to her feet. "Now, let's try this again. Take your stance and be ready. We're going to do this for real, all right?" He warned her as he backed away, giving her more space.

Taking a deep breath, Anna prepared herself for the fight she was about to have with Will. She wasn't sure if she was going to ever be ready to fight him. But she had to try.

Ten minutes later, Anna crashed to the ground, panting hard after doing her best to defend herself from Will. She had not even been able to touch Will at all. She had swung her fist and feet at him, trying to hit him but she hadn't even come close to getting him. All he had done to her as dodge her before he lashed out and lightly slapped her, soft enough so that it wouldn't hurt. It was still aggravating.

"God!" Anna groaned as she climbed to her feet with Will's help. "What the hell am I doing wrong?"

Shaking his head, Will just backed away from her and folded his arms across his chest. He didn't look too impressed but he didn't look disappointed either. "You're hesitating. That's what's wrong. You're not seeing me as a threat. Don't be afraid or embarrassed, Anna. You can't afford to be in a real fight. You won't have time to hesitate in a real fight. You have got to let your body move before you think about it. Trust your instincts. Your body will know what to do when it's being threatened. Always let your body do the work when someone is coming at you." He told her before looking around. "Okay. We're going to mostly spar at the moment. But Anna, you're going to work with Maggie. She'll help you with your stance and show you how to throw a punch and kick. All right?"

Both Anna and Maggie smiled at one another, nodding their approval. They were just glad that they got to work with one another.

Soon enough, they got to work.

Maggie helped Anna stand straight in a good fighting stance. She had to keep correcting her though, constantly moving her feet so that she could brace herself. She lightly pushed her a few times, testing her stability. She still had to correct Anna when she let herself be pushed. But she told her to stand her ground, imagine as if she was a tree or a rock that someone was trying to push. It took a little time but Anna finally got it and she passed that test. Maggie admitted that she was impressed that she manage to catch on pretty quickly.

All around them, everyone was sparring with one another. Anna noticed that Alice was really fast on her feet as she sparred with one of the soldiers. She was almost wicked fast and she seemed to have a pretty vicious kick. She wasn't holding back either. Maggie explained to her that the more experienced DATAR members nearly went full out on their sparring matches. It just worried Anna. She hoped that she would never have to spar with Alice if she had a kick like she was showing against the soldier.

After about an hour of just sparring and working on some fighting moves, Will stopped everyone while Epps and another soldier were getting into a bag and were pulling out paint ball guns. They were beginning the sharp shooting session now.

Setting up a few empty old cans in a line on a boulder, Will explained to Anna what they were doing next. He worked with her this time, showing her how to load the gun with paint balls before showing her how to aim at one of the cans. He even shot one off the boulder while everyone else was shooting at the others.

Eventually, Will let Anna try and she missed by a long shot. She was so not happy about that.

When the sun began to rise, that was when everyone decided to pack up the camp and move out. They didn't want to stay in one place too long, afraid that a Decepticon or two might come along and spot them.

As they began to walk, Will came up right behind Anna and tapped her shoulder as he started to pass by. "Hey, Anna. Keep up your guard while you're walking, all right?" He told her before he went straight to the front and began to lead them.

Frowning in confusion, Anna looked over at Sam, Maggie, and Glenn as they walked beside Bumblebee, who was rolling slowly beside them. "Huh? What does he mean by that?" She asked them, confused.

"He does this to everyone." Sam said rather dryly as he looked after Will. He shook his head and looked at Anna. "He did it to me when I joined up and started training. He does random attacks on everyone. He or Epps will come up right behind you when you're not expecting it. They'll grab you and you have to immediately put up your guard and spar with them. They do it all the time to random people."

"Well, at least Will gave her a warning." Maggie said in between dry and lightly. "He didn't do that for any of us."

Anna grimaced. She hoped that no one was getting annoyed that she was getting a warning and no one else didn't. She didn't want to make everyone think she was getting a special treatment because she was a) a girl b) a newbie and c) a terrible fighter. "I'm sorry, guys. I don't want anyone to think…" She was saying.

It seemed to hit all of them of why she was apologizing. They quickly shook their heads and waved hands at her to stop before she continued.

"Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no. Don't be apologizing, Anna. Don't be apologizing that Will gave you a warning." Sam quickly said, shaking his head. "We're just glad that he gave you a warning. Because the first time he ever did it to me, it scared me shitless. I thought I had done something to piss him off. But I later found out about the random sparring matches. Believe me, I'm glad he gave you a warning. At least when he or Epps comes around you and grabs you, you'll know that you didn't piss him off. You'll at least be expecting it."

Maggie nodded in agreement as she smiled coyly before glancing over at Glenn, who seemed to have read her mind and gave her a dry look. "And believe me, Anna. Don't feel bad. You are not the worst at defending yourself." She remarked before nodding sharply over to Glenn. "Glenn, here, screams like a girl when he gets randomly attacked by Will or Epps. He even tries to run away."

Anna, Sam and Bumblebee all snorted with humor as they watched Glenn glare at the blonde Aussie. "Maggie!" He groaned with a whine. "Come on! I'm not THAT bad!"

"No?" Maggie said thoughtfully tapping her chin with a finger. "Oh, I guess you did get a good hit on Epps that one time."

Jaw dropping, Glenn looked shocked that she even said that, while she snickered and kept walking on. "Oh! You just had to bring THAT up, didn't you? In front of Anna! Didn't you?" He argued right back.

Sam, Anna and Bumblebee slowed down a little, letting the two continue walking as they argued back and forth, nipping and biting at each other in a verbal fight. It was really amusing, yet what Maggie had said made Anna very curious. She even looked at Sam with a curious smile. There was a few things that she wanted to know about those two but never really had the courage to ask them. "You know, I never really did ask Maggie or Glenn. But what exactly is their story? How did they come into DATAR and how long have they've known each other?" She asked him.

Sam smiled a crooked smile as he watched Maggie and Glenn continuing their ongoing argument. "They've been in DATAR since the beginning. Before all of this even happened, both of them were top of the art hackers and computer specialists. They still are. They're both the smartest pair of humans that's left on the earth, really. They've known each other since they even went to High School together." He snorted and looked at Anna, shaking his head. "Everyone knows about it but Glenn is so madly in love with Maggie. He just won't admit it. Even she knows about his feelings for her. But she keeps playing this game with him. She's actually waiting for him to just admit that he loves her. They've been at this game for a while now." He paused with a light laugh. "But if you haven't noticed, Glenn's not the bravest person in the entire group. He's too afraid to do anything really. He looks and acts really tough…sometimes. But he's really a big teddy bear." He then nudged Anna. "Really, you are a better fighter than he is."

Anna just smiled coyly at him. "And that hit that Glenn gave Epps?" She asked, though she was somewhat getting an idea.

Snorting with laughter and rolling his eyes, Sam shook his head and raised an eyebrow at her. "It was a while ago. Funny as shit, though. Everyone still gives Glenn a hard time about it. But Epps came up right behind him and scared him when he grabbed his shoulder, telling him to spar with him. Glenn freaked out and started screaming as he whirled around to face him. He kind of…..kicked out at Epps and nailed him in between the legs." He said now laughing.

Anna could not help but explode into laughter right with him. She could not believe that. Glenn had actually kicked Epps in the balls. It was painful but hilarious at the same time. "Oh, my. GAWD! Did he really? He really kicked Epps in the balls? What did Epps do? How mad was he?" She gasped between laughs.

"Oh, Epps was so mad after he recovered ten minutes later. He hasn't forgiven Glenn for it. He refuses to randomly attack him. Will has to do it." He laughed before he threw his arm around Anna's shoulders and nodded. "Come on. Let's get going, Anna and Bee." He said, looking from her to the snickering Autobot.

So the entire 151 troupe walked on. With Will taking the lead with Epps, they lead everyone into the wilderness under rather gray clouds. There wasn't very much sun at all. Just dark clouds, a slight cold wind blowing and it was looking like it was going to rain. The entire area they were all walking through was mostly open plains. There wasn't much cover at all other than a few dead or dying trees. There weren't very many places to hide if they heard Decepticons coming.

But luckily there wasn't very much sight of any of them. Only once or twice, everyone had to duck down to the ground when they heard distant roaring engines of a Seeker high in the air but they were never spotted. Even Bumblebee had to stick to being his rusted, dirty alt-mode to avoid gaining attention. He wasn't happy that he had to stay in car form almost the entire time. It was not easy for him to drive over the broken and ripped up earth under his tires. It was not going to be easy on his already worn tires and bruised axels.

For the next few days, everyone traveled on. The sky remained cloudy and dark, threatening all of them of a storm. Anna seriously didn't like the looks of it. But she didn't have time to pay too much attention to the weather.

For her friends had been serious about Will and Epps making random attacks on her. It happened only a day after Will had told her to keep up her guard. She had been walking beside Sam and Bumblebee when he came up right behind her and grabbed her shoulder, forcing her to spin and face him. She had squealed when it happened before she had to quickly move backwards when Will swung at her. She was terrified out of her wits, that she froze up. But it was easy to say that he was taking it easy on her as he lightly slapped her shoulders, trying to get her used to his moves. He had won the sudden sparring match, much to Anna's dismay.

But it wasn't like she wasn't getting any better.

When the group of DATAR members and civilians stopped for camp, Maggie began to work with Anna, trying to teach her some moves. She taught her how to block a punch and kick, as well as freeing herself from being grabbed. Anna was starting to enjoy learning how to fight. And each morning, two hours before Dawn, Will woke Anna up for morning training. She was starting to get into the swing of things and started getting up all on her own when she heard him coming to get her up. She was starting to enjoy herself.

A few times, it was Epps who randomly attacked her when Anna started watching Will, waiting to see him come at her. She should have been paying attention to both of them. She had been startled but she immediately started to defend herself from him, using the moves she was learning from Maggie.

It was there, she finally landed a hit.

Anna had been dodging some of Epps slaps before she swung her fist upward and punched him square in the jaw, sending him reeling. She felt herself squeak as she clapped her hands over her mouth and looked at Epps with horror and shock. "Oh, my gawd! Epps! I am so sorry!" She gasped now hurrying forward.

But Epps laughed as he rubbed his jaw and waved her away. "Hey, hey, now. It's fine. That was a real nice hit." He commented on her as he continued to laugh, joined by several others.

"Yeah, but you still pulled back." Will remarked as he watched from off to the side. He did not look too impressed with how she had been holding back. But with a shrug, he turned and walked on while Anna pouted after him.

Epps snorted as he stepped closer to Anna and patted her on the shoulder, being careful with her healing burn. "Eh, don't let him get to you, Anna. You did just fine. Even if you pulled that punch, I'd really hate to be on the end of the real punch behind your fist. 'Cause that hurt." He told her.

Anna smiled faintly at him, wincing only a little. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean…." She tried to apologize.

"Hey, hey. Don't be apologizing. This is why we do these random attacks. We're trying to prepare you to be able to defend yourself. Don't let it get to you. You did just fine." Epps told her before walking on.

Feeling better, Anna smiled after him before laughing as Maggie threw her arms around her shoulders and hugged her. Sam, Glenn and Bumblebee all congratulated her on being able to land a hit on Epps. They were just happy that she was starting to get into it. And so was she. It was making her proud of herself. Even though she would have prouder if Will had just only said something else besides telling her not to hold back.

Still, things were going well, even though there was still trouble brewing with Alice. Anna was starting to get sick and tired of some of the comments that Alice made about her. She was still hissing dirty comments to some of the Soldiers, especially the one called Stevens. He and Alice were not making it easy for her to adapt to life with the DATAR. They were constantly giving her cold looks.

It did not get any easier on Anna when Will finally pitted her against the other blonde during the training sessions. He didn't seem to have realized that there was problems going on between Anna and Alice.

Going up against Alice in training, Anna wasn't sure if she wanted to face off with her. She still felt a little uneasy around the other blonde. But it wasn't like she could tell Will that. She knew if she said something, Alice might comment about how big of a scaredy cat she was. She would make it even harder on her if she knew that Anna was scared of her.

Facing Alice, Anna prepared herself like Maggie had taught her, while Alice just eyed her darkly before she charged at her.

It happened way too fast and Anna seriously didn't see Alice coming at her. She felt the punch across her face before she saw it coming. She went spinning in many circles before landing hard on the ground. And then she felt a kick connect with her stomach, making her gasp loudly. She couldn't help but curl up in a ball and hold her stomach. She could hear Maggie now screaming at Alice in rage while Sam quickly dropped down beside her to see if she was okay.

"What the hell was that, Alice?" Will now demanded after finding out what happened. "Why did you hit her so hard?"

Alice just folded her arms and shook her head as she looked dryly at him. "What, if she can't take a real hit, Will, then she has no business learning how to fight. Like it or not, what I just did was easy compared to what a Reaver or a Decepticon would do to her if she ended up facing them." She said icily before she tossed her blonde hair back and walked away.

After that, Will decided that it was best if Anna and Alice stayed away from each other. He had even had to tell Maggie to stay away from Alice, to make sure she didn't attack her. He began to realize exactly what was going on between the three blondes and knew better than to let them be around each other; other than Anna and Maggie. He was doing a lot more close watching them after that incident.

Anna was very upset after getting beaten up by Alice. She hated herself for not being ready to defend herself from the hateful witch. But she now felt more afraid of the bitch more than ever.

Eventually, everyone went on. They continued to walk across the plains and the weather still looked ugly as ever. Everyone was starting to realize that they might have been walking into Tornado Country after seeing far away funnel clouds. It didn't give them comfort at all. But so far, they had been lucky.

Unfortunately, their luck was about to run out. The worst had yet to come and it was not a weather storm that all of them had to worry about.

It happened on a very cool night under the shelter of a few trees that they had found. Will and Epps had finally stopped everyone and had them set up camp. They chose not to build a fire for the night, due to the fact that they heard rumbling engines of Seekers again. They weren't sure where it was coming from but it didn't sound like they were getting any closer. They seemed to moving away.

Still, the night air was extremely cold and everyone was freezing. Most of them huddled together, trying to share body heat and blankets. Will and Epps and some of the Soldiers were standing around the camp, looking out into the darkness, watching for any sign of danger. Anna and Maggie were together, arm in arms, trying to warm each other up and hover as close to Bumblebee's warm body as they could. He had offered to let them sit inside him but so far, Maggie's trust of him didn't extend that far just yet. Sam was near by, doing jumping jacks to try and keep himself warm. It was working a little. Glenn was curled up into a tight ball, trying to sleep but his shivering wasn't letting him get any shut eye. It was very quiet other than the chattering of teeth and the Soldiers moving around, pacing around the entire camp. It was really late in the evening.

And that's when Anna and Maggie felt Bumblebee stiffen on his tires before giving a jerk. They frowned, looking at him with confusion and alarm.

"Huh?" Anna mumbled, looking at the yellow and black car. "Bumblebee, what's wrong?"

For a moment, the Autobot stayed quiet. He was quiet for a very long time, as if he was searching for something. But then he jerked on his tires again before an explosion of honks erupted out of him and his doors began opening and slamming shut. A car alarm exploded out of him, going off very loudly.

Many people jolted out of their icy sleep and looked around with wide eyes. Everyone looked at him with shock and alarm at what he was doing. Will and Epps both ran over, looking quite pissed off at the sound that Bumblebee was making. "What the hell are you doing, robot? Sam! Anna! What the fuck is he doing? He's going to give away our position! Make him stop!" Will yelled over the loud noise.

Sam and Anna looked at each other with wide eyes before turning towards Bumblebee and waved their arms in the air to get him to stop. "Bumblebee! Stop it! What are you doing? What…?" She was yelling over the loud honks and alarms.

Suddenly, there was an explosion from hear by.

Dirt, rocks and fire exploded right out of the earth, sending debris flying into the air and raining down on everyone. People screamed in alarm and fear as they tried to cover their heads and protect their self. But no one could prepare their selves to see something explode out of the ground and that thing had burning red eyes.

The Decepticon landed on a few people, crushing them under its weight. They died very slowly but it did not bother the Decepticon at all as he looked wildly around before he began firing off his cannons and caused many explosions. People began screaming and running in many directions to get away. The Soldiers all swore loudly as they ran forward and raised their guns, firing off at the large scorpion like Decepticon that Anna knew as Scorponok.

"FUCK!" Epps exclaimed as he brought up his gun and began firing at Scorponok with Will, Maggie and Sam as soon as they grabbed their rifles off their backs. Anna and Glenn were both on the ground, covering their heads and screaming in horror.

Suddenly, there was an explosion of clicks and metal banging against metal as Bumblebee quickly transformed. He was on his feet immediately before he threw up his cannons and began firing at Scorponok. His cannon blast sailed over Anna and Glenn's heads before slamming into the animalistic Decepticon, causing him to jerk side wards.

With an angry hiss, Scorponok whirled around, swinging his long bladed tail and hitting people, sending them flying into the air. Some of them were sliced in half by the blades on his tail, killing them instantly. He ignored the humans that he was killing as he looked angrily around for who just hit him and then froze with alarm to see an Autobot.

By that time, Bumblebee had leapt right over many heads and landed directly on Scorponok's back before he began hitting at his claw like cannons, trying to break them.

The DATAR members ran around to position their selves and fire at the Decepticon, trying to help Bumblebee attack the giant metal scorpion. They kept shooting as fast as they could and tried to miss the Autobot as he began bashing the hell out of the Decepticon. Scorponok began firing his cannons in many directions, hitting quite a few people and killing them while trying to swing his tail and hit Bumblebee off of him. He roared and hissed in pain as the Autobot held tight to his back and tried ripping off metal sheets from his frame.

Just then, there was a loud metallic roar before everyone heard the whup, whup sound of a helicopter. As soon as they heard it, something very big and dark came crashing down out of the sky, landing near Anna and Glenn, making them scream in alarm.

Anna looked through her arms with horror to see the Decepticon, Blackout now swinging his helicopter blades at Bumblebee and slice into his back, causing the Autobot to whirl in pain and jerk away from Scorponok. She watched in horror as something exploded through the trees and ram right into her yellow and black friend, sending him crashing and rolling across the ground on top of some people and many dead bodies.

It was very much to her horror to see that it was Barricade.

Barricade was now using his spinning blades, slicing into Bumblebee's armor and trying to slice his dropped battle mask off his face. He used his other metal fist to start bashing into the battle mask, attempting to tear it off while Bumblebee was now swinging his large fist to try and knock the other Decepticon off of him.

"BUMBLEBEE!" Anna screamed as she climbed to her feet.

"Shit! Will, this is turning into a huge mess! We have to retreat! There's too many of them now! And we don't have enough ammo to take them all out!" Epps yelled.

Will nodded as he jerked his head around before waving an arm into the air. "Everyone! Retreat! Run as hard as you can to the East!" He yelled as he turned and hurried towards Anna. He grabbed her wrist and started to pull her after him. "Come on, Anna!"

"NO!" Anna screamed as she looked back at Bumblebee as Barricade and Blackout began to gang up on him. Scorponok was giving chase to some of the humans, shooting them and killing them. "NO! We can't leave Bumblebee! We have to help him! He can't face all of them by himself!"

Will shook his head as he tried to drag her after him. "Forget the robot, Anna! We have to protect our own!" He yelled over the explosions of gunfire and banging metal.

Anna gave him an angry look as she dug her feet into the ground and then yanked her arm free. She couldn't believe him! He was so willing to let Bumblebee die while they escaped! She couldn't do that to her friend! She couldn't abandon him! "NO! I am not leaving Bumblebee behind!" She yelled at him before she yanked his rifle right out of his hands and ran back. She ignored the shout from behind her as she raised the gun. She was only too glad to see that she wasn't the only one. She saw Sam charging back with her and aiming his gun to help her fire at the Decepticons to help Bumblebee.

They both had to smile brightly to see that Maggie and Epps quickly joined them as they began to fire at Blackout and Barricade. Bullets bounced off the metal armor before both Blackout and Barricade whirled around angrily and looked to see who was attacking them. They snarled to see all of the remaining humans starting to attack them before they brought up their cannons.

Before they could fire, there was the clanging sound of chains before they came flying out of the darkness and wrapped around all of the humans.

Anna screamed as she was forced to drop the rifle as chains wrapped around her entire body. She lost her footing and went crashing to the ground, hearing her friends doing the same. She jerked around to see where the chains had come from, only to see a fourth Decepticon come lumbering out of the darkness. It was Barricade's subordinate, Groundhog.

Groundhog had many chains whipped out, wrapping around her and her friends, knocking them to the ground. He whirled his head around when he heard Will swear loudly and grab a fallen rifle. He glared at him as he raised his cannon to fire at him.

"Barricade!" Blackout roared, shooting the other Decepticon a look. "Kill the Autobot!"

Barricade snorted loudly as he turned to the struggling Bumblebee and raised his spinning blades, ready to slice right through his neck and take his head off. "With pleasure! Die, Autobot insect!" He snarled before swinging.

"BUMBLEBEE! NOOO!" Anna and Sam both screamed as they struggled against the chains wrapped around them. They watched with horror as Barricade's claws came very close to slicing Bumblebee's head off. They couldn't believe this! Their friend was about to die…..!

Suddenly, there was a deafening boom before a brilliant ball of fire and Energon came speeding out of the darkness, burning dead trees before slamming into Barricade, throwing him off of Bumblebee.

Crashing booms of heavy feet made the ground shudder before something very big and black came crashing through the trees, causing them to break and fall to the ground. It was a very big, brawny and black robot with burning blue eyes. A pair of large cannons were spinning hotly on its arms as it glared around the area before two heavy thuds shook the ground beside it. Two identical robots; one silver and the other a brilliant sunny yellow landed beside the large black one. They lashed out their arms and a pair of ten foot blades slid right out of their wrists. They, too, had burning blue eyes.

Everyone, humans and Decepticons froze with alarm to see these three. The Decepticons looked the most horrified.

"Knock!"! The Silver Robot cheered with a sinister grin.

"Knock!" The Yellow Robot added with the same sinister grin.

The big black robot snorted loudly as he cocked his cannons and prepared to fire. "Did someone order pest control? Hello, punk Decepticons! Remember us?" He boomed in a very gruff tone before he lashed out and fired his cannons at the Decepticons.


	14. Chapter Thirteen

"NO!" Blackout roared in shock and anger. He, like the other Decepticons, looked terrified to see the three new arrivals. His burning glare was mostly on the large black robot as he fired off his cannons and let his blast slam into Scorponok, sending him reeling. "This is not happening! They can't be here!"

"Yes!" Both of the identical robots cheered grinning almost evilly as they lunged forward and began attacking the large metal scorpion.

"This is happening!" The silver one shouted as he slashed at Scorponok's swinging tail, knocking it side wards as he tried to swipe at them.

"And we are here!" The sunny colored one shouted as lashed out a foot and kicked Scorponok across the face.

Blackout and Barricade all growled viciously as they leapt forward to the big black one, who had his cannons locked and ready as they charged at him. Scorponok quickly recovered after being attacked by the two identical robots, swinging his tail at them again. His bladed tail came close to hitting the sunny colored one, who ducked right under it while his twin let it hit him square in his chest as he wrapped his arms around it and held on. He braced himself, allowing himself to drag across the ground for a moment before grinning at the animalistic Decepticon. "Hey, Scorpy! I got your tail!" he laughed and held on as Scorponok began yanking and tugging, trying to free his tail from the silver robot. It was unfortunate for the Decepticon that the new robot had a pretty good hold on it and was keeping him from moving the tail. "You shouldn't look down on us, Scorpy! Or maybe…you should look down!"

The sunny colored twin snorted at his twin's words before he snapped forward and upper-cut Scorponok right in the head, sending him reeling backwards until he fell right on his back. Sharp metal flailed in the air while he was trying to get back up on his feet but was failing pretty badly.

All the mean while, the black robot was shooting at Blackout and Barricade as they tried to charge at him but his blasts were keeping him back. They had no choice to back off and try to return fire.

"Hey! Blackout! Barricade! You forget one little detail about being on the battlefield while hiding away from us!" The large black robot roared over his firing.

"Yeah? What's that, you trigger crazy idiot?" Barricade snarled as he ducked under a cannon blast.

The big black robot grinned evilly at him as he held fire for one moment, ducking when both Decepticons fired at him with their cannons. He just jerked his head as if nodding towards behind them. "You forgot that you're not supposed to turn your back onto an enemy!" He barked over at them.

Both Decepticons stiffened at his words and started to spin around to see what he was talking about.

And that's when Bumblebee jumped to his feet and shoved both of them in the back, knocking them forward. He was back on Barricade, lashing out with his metal fist. Barricade snarled as he spun around and began lashing back out at him.

All the while watching this brutal battle between robots, Anna and the remaining DATAR members were either lying on the ground, still chained or standing around but all were stock still with shock and alarm. They couldn't be sure what to do, even as Sam, Epps and Maggie were already trying to tug their selves free from the chains. They weren't too sure what to make of these three new robots that were attacking their attackers. But Anna was very sure that this was what she had been hoping for. She felt like she was complete in awe as she watched the three and Bumblebee attack the Decepticons. The big black one was taking on Blackout while the other two were taking care of Scorponok. They were so fast on their feet, flipping around under and over as he tried to slash at them with his tail after they had kicked him back on his feet. They seemed so highly entertained with just taking pot shots off of him and teasing him as they let him try and lash out at them.

But there was still…..

Suddenly the chains jerked around her and she felt herself being yanked across the ground. She couldn't help but cry out in alarm as she was dragged roughly against the rocks and rough dirt. She was even more terrified as she looked up to see that Groundhog was yanking her towards him.

"ANNA!" She heard her friends cry out as they wrestled with their chains, now scrabbling after her, yet tripping with the chains.

Will swore as he bolted after Anna and managed to catch her by the legs, trying to stop her from being yanked by Groundhog. He did his best to quickly grab the chain and hold on as he was yanked off his feet as the Decepticon continued to pull them towards him. "Dammit! Let go you son of a…!" He yelled, raising his rifle to fire at the Decepticon.

Just then, there was a metallic roar and both, Will and Anna jerked their heads up to see something flying at them. That metal something crashed into Will, knocking him away from Anna. Both of them went rolling and crashing across the ground before the feline like Decepticon kicked off of Will, causing him to cry out in pain and scrabble to his feet.

Anna felt horror strike through her to see that it was Ravage, who was bad all on his own. She knew him by reputation and knew that Will was not going to be able to shoot him by how fast that thing was.

Will glared at Ravage, his rifle raised in one hand and his other hand pressed against his ribs, holding them as if he was in pain. He was sure that this Decepticon had cracked a rib or two from being hit so hard. He braced himself, watching as the feral Decepticon arched his metal spine and snarled at him, looking ready to pounce at him. He knew this one wasn't going to be so easy at all to fire at. He had seen Ravage only a few times in action. His gun was not going to work on this thing.

Ravage prowled close to the ground, starting to circle Will, his long metal tail flicking in air before his back clicked and a gatlin gun popped up out of his back.

"SHIT!" Will cursed before he dove side wards as he began firing at him. He had to quickly keep moving to avoid getting shot.

"WILL!" Anna screamed before she felt herself getting dragged again. She looked up fearfully to see Groundhog pulling her closer. "NO!"

Will jerked around before crying out as one of Ravage's bullets clipped his shoulder, sending him spinning on his heel. He clapped a hand over his new wound and turned a glare onto the feral Decepticon.

Suddenly, there was an explosion of gunfire and bullets slammed into Ravage, causing him to snarl in pain and roll after getting shot. He whirled around to see that Epps was on one knee with a chain still wrapped around his ankle. He had his rifle in hand, shooting at Ravage to help Will out. Sam was racing over towards Anna with Maggie and Glenn. He had his rifle in hand and was now shooting at Groundhog, causing him to flinch and falter from pulling Anna any more. Both Maggie and Glenn raced over to Anna's side and began tugging at the chains, trying to loosen them and free her.

"Maggie! Glenn! Ple-please help me!" Anna couldn't help but sob in fear as she thrashed in the chains, trying to pull herself out of them.

Groundhog growled at them before he lashed out a free arm and fired something at them. A net made of chains shout outward and slammed into Sam, knocking him off his feet. The thick chain links slammed into him and held him down to the ground, even as he grunted after air was knocked out of his lungs.

After Sam was taken care of, the Decepticon turned his attention back onto Anna, giving her chain another yank, causing her to cry out in pain and alarm as she was ripped away from Maggie and Glenn, who swore and scrambled after her.

"Let her go, you son of a bitch!" Maggie screamed as she tried to grab for Anna again. But the young girl was yanked out of her reach again, now just merely feet away from him.

Groundhog just snorted as he reached down for Anna. He almost had her too if not for the cannon blast shot by the big black robot hadn't slammed into his face, causing him to stumble backwards and hit the ground. The chain connected to his arm jerked around Anna, causing a line of it to slip right off her shoulders and around her neck. She gasped as she was being choked by the chain. She tried to scream but only a gasp of the lack of air rose out of her.

Maggie and Glenn were beside her again, swearing as they tried to tug the chain away from her neck. It wasn't doing very much. "Shit! Anna! Hold on, okay?" The blonde Aussie cried out as she tried to pull the chain away so she could catch some air. She managed only a little but the chain was still too tight around Anna, making her choke and gasp. Tears were spilling down her cheeks as she began to see yellow spots behind her eyelids. She couldn't even catch a single breath to refill her lungs. And with Groundhog getting back to his feet, pulling the chain and tightening it, she was starting to see darkness creeping up on her.

Suddenly, there was a loud clink as if metal hit the chain, causing Maggie and Glenn to shout in surprise and spin around as they heard a thud behind them. They tensed up to see a glowing orange blade slammed into the ground against the chain and breaking the links.

Their breath catching in their chest, both of them slowly followed the glowing blade, looking to see that it was connected to a very long and wide arm. That very long and wide arm was then connected to something very big, crouching over them, glaring towards Groundhog, pinning the Decepticon in his place as he looked at the new robot with alarm.

That robot was the largest robot that Maggie, Glenn and even Anna had ever seen. He was bent down to one large knee while he had another large hand pressed down on the chain between the now broken chain and his glowing blade. He had the brightest glowing blue eyes out of all of the new robots. Just by the fire light from the explosions, they could make out that he was two toned of red and blue. And Anna could see that he could have easily been the same size of Megatron.

"Ratchet!" The large blue and red robot boomed with a very powerful voice as he continued to glare over at a startled Groundhog. "Help the girl before she chokes to death!"

"I'm on it!"

All of the remaining humans jumped and looked around as they heard thundering booms and felt the ground shaking. They were alarmed to see a lime green robot hurrying towards Anna, Maggie and Glenn, his pointer finger splitting open and a buzz saw began to spin on the tip. Maggie was quick to snatching up her rifle and pointing it at the robot as he quickly approached them. She aimed it at him, causing him to hesitate. "Don't you fucking dare come near her with that! I won't let you hurt her!" She snarled up at him.

Making a face at her, the robot shook his head as he held up his other hand, as if trying to calm her down. "Certainly not. I'm not here to hurt your friend. Now, if you don't let me come close to her, she will choke to death with those chains. Certainly you don't want that." He scolded her.

A weak choking gasp from Anna made Maggie quickly change her mind. She looked almost weak as she quickly glanced at down at her friend before she stepped back. "Hurry!" She half snapped, half begged.

The robot quickly nodded as he dropped down to his knee and grabbed at the chain, being very careful not to pull it and choke Anna further. He used his buzz saw finger to careful slice through the chain before he quickly lift Anna up into a sitting position and unwound the chain from her neck. A sharp gasp escaped Anna as she bent over, choking and gasping for air. She had tears streaming down her cheeks as she tried to keep herself propped up with one hand while the other was pressed against her throat, rubbing vigorously at it. Maggie and Glenn both hurried to her sides and rubbed her back.

"Anna!" They cried out.

The arrival of the huge robot had nearly made everything else cease. All of the Decepticons noticed him immediately and quickly backed away with a look of horror on their faces. They did not too thrilled to see him at all.

"Oh, frag!" Blackout swore loudly as he quickly stumbled backwards. "It's HIM!"

Slowly, the large robot stood up, towering over all. All of the humans had to tilt their heads backward just to look up at his face with alarm and shock. He was huge. He could have been at least thirty feet tall, if not a little shorter. There was something about the looks of him. He looked like he was some kind of leader of some sort and judging by the look on Bumblebee's face, he must have been. The yellow and black Autobot sure looked very happy to see him after kicking Barricade backwards.

"Be afraid, Decepticons. Be very afraid." Snorted another new robot as he came out from behind the large robot. It was a much smaller but still large robot in mirror like silver. He was probably the shortest among them all. "Because we're kind of pissed off at all of ya."

Behind him came four other new arrivals. Other than the Decepticons and Bumblebee, there were a new total of eight robots standing all around them, cannons trained on the mere five. Most of them were glaring directly at the Decepticons, awaiting for the order to attack.

"If you are wise," The huge robot spoke in a deep, sharp voice. "You will leave this place, immediately. And give fair warning to Megatron that we are here."

"And by leaving this place, he also means get the frag off this planet." Growled the big black robot as he kept his cannons trained on the Decepticons. He gave the large robot a glance as he smirked at him. "If you don't get off this planet, then he'll just let me shoot you and get rid of you for good."

The large robot just shook his head as he eyed the Decepticons coolly and kept his blade raised across his chest. "Attack only when they do. We will need to leave only one to give warning to Megatron and the rest of the Decepticons."

Some of the new robots snickered and gave all of the Decepticons a daring look. They were all itching to fight with them.

"DECEPTICONS! RETREAT!" Blackout boomed as he transformed quickly and took off.

Swearing loudly and not sounding the least bit happy, Barricade tossed himself backwards as he made a quick transformation and sped off in the direction that Blackout went in. Ground was very quick to follow while the rather torn to pieces Scorponok dove into the ground and rumbled away. Ravage was the last to leave, but not without a snarl as he raced past the sunny colored twin robot, who attempted to kick him in the tail.

But the feral Decepticon reacted right away, lashing out his sharp claws and slashing the sunny twin's leg. He was very quick to running away into the darkness.

There was a deafening screech, making all of the humans flinch and cover their ears as they watched the yellow twin jump and look down at the new scratch in his leg with horror. "FRAGGING SON OF A GLITCH! GET BACK HERE YOU STUPID CAT! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU! YOU SCRATCHED MY NEW PAINT JOB!" He roared, taking a few steps after Ravage, only to stop when his twin grabbed his arm.

"You kind of deserved that, Sunny." The smallest silver robot snickered as he shook his head, earning a very acid like look from the sunny colored twin.

Now that it was much quieter, all of the large robots looked down at the startled humans as they hovered near each other. There were only twenty humans left after the slaughter that the Decepticons brought upon them. Out of a 151 people, there were only twenty left. Will, Epps and the remaining nine Soldiers stood around the unarmed and frightened humans, pointing their guns up at the new robots. They were looking extremely nervous about the new situation. They knew that they were out numbered by far but they weren't going to go down without a fight.

"We will not be your slaves! You will have to kill every one of us before we let you take any of us!" Will snapped as he glared around at all of the robots.

The largest robot made a sound as if he was amused before he shook his head and slowly bent down to one knee, still towering over all of them. He met Will's burning glare as he slid his blade away into his arm and motioned to all of the others to put away their cannons, which they quickly did. "We are not here to enslave you or harm you in anyway. We are here in search for a single human being."

Everyone frowned fearfully but confused at his words. Will continued to glare up at the robot as he kept his rifle pointing right into the robot's face. But Maggie tilted her head as she kept a tight embrace around Anna, trying to keep her hidden behind her. "What…? Who are you…..? Who are you looking for?" She asked with hesitance.

The large robot let his blue gaze flicker to her before he shook his head and motioned to a very small robot as he stepped out from behind the lime green robot. He was the smallest out of all of them. He was easily only seven feet tall and slender. "Our Communications Officer picked up a message that we found quite disturbing. We are here, looking for the one who deployed an SOS from Earth." He paused for a moment, looking over all of the humans. "We are here for Annabelle May Lennox."

Anna stiffened but she was not the only one. She saw everyone stiffen as a few heads spun around and she found nearly everyone was looking at her with alarm. But it was Will who wasn't looking at her. He was staring shell-shocked right up at the large robot, looking as if someone was playing a cruel joke on him.

"WHAT?" He suddenly blurted out, shocked and angry. "No! That's impossible! You are lying!"

The large robot looked down at him but shook his head. "I have no reason to fabricate why we are here." He glanced around at everyone again. "If Annabelle May Lennox is here with you, please. Step forward." He announced.

"NO!" Will shouted now jabbing a finger up at him. He looked so furious but shocked that this robot would be even saying that at all. Anna couldn't help gawk at him eve as she was slowly moving past a hesitant Maggie, stepping past her. "You are fucking lying! There is no Annabelle May Lennox here! That be…!" Will shouting.

"Y-yes, there is." Anna spoke up with a quiver but still strained voice.

All eyes spun around, looking at her with shock. Will even looked stunned as she slowly stepped forward, looking up at the large robot with nervousness.

With a shaky breath, Anna looked right up into the large robot's glowing blue eyes, her fingers twisting and turning around each other with fear. She was trembling as he looked down at her. She swallowed hard as she shivered. "I'm the one who sent the SOS." She spoke, though her voice still shook with fear. "I am Annabelle May Lennox."


	15. Chapter Fourteen

"WHAT?" Will exclaimed, completely stunned.

Everyone was staring wide eyed between him and Anna, while Epps lift a fist to his mouth as he gaped at her. He, unlike everyone else, knew exactly why Will was so shocked. But Anna couldn't help but glance over her shoulder and frown at them, wondering why in the world they looked so surprised. She didn't understand why Will was looking at her with shock and anger but instead of asking, she shook her head and turned back towards the huge robot before her. She drew a shaky breath as she looked up at him. Her eyes were blurring again with tears, both in fear and happiness at the same time. She was torn between believing that these were the Autobots and that they were here to help her and Earth's residents from the Decepticons.

"Pl-please," She tried to say without breaking down. She felt her knees give out under her and she fell to them before the robot, who drew back only a little as if surprised. "Please, help us. Please…..don't….don't hurt us. If…..if yo-you help us free ourselves from the…..the Decept…..Decepticons." She curled up into a fetal bow, pressing her forehead against the torn ground. "We…..we will be your servants." She sobbed softly into the ground.

There was a very short silence as a few murmurs from all of the robots broke out. But the largest robot gently nudged her side with his finger, making her flinch only a little. He let out a low sigh as he nudged her back up and lift her face with his warm metal finger. There was a very soft look in his glowing eyes as he looked down at her. "Annabelle May Lennox, my name is Optimus Prime, Leader of the Autobots. We, the Autobots, do not believe in slavery. We are not here to enslave or bring any harm to any of your people. And you do not need to bow down to us. We are answering your SOS. We are here to free you and all humans from Megatron and the Decepticons." He told her softly as he gently lift her back to her feet.

A sob burst from Anna as she quickly wiped her flooded eyes with her arm before she leapt forward and wrapped her arms around the large robot's wrist, embracing it tightly. She couldn't help it at all. She just felt so happy and relieved by his words. "Tha-thank you! Thank you so much, Master Optimus Prime!" She cried hard.

Optimus Prime hummed softly as he curled his hand around her, holding her gently as if he was trying to comfort her. "You do not need to call me such a title, young one. As I have said, we're not here to become your masters or enslave you. We are equals in ranks and such." He told her gently before using a thumb to lift her face again. "Don't cry. It will be all right. We are here and we will keep you safe from all of the Decepticons."

Anna just smiled tearfully as she stepped back and wiped her tears away. Other than Bumblebee, she had never been spoken to in such a soft way by an alien robot. And she felt the greatest truth coming from him. "Th-thank you." She breathed, smiling.

Again, Optimus Prime smiled down at her before his expression darkened and he looked around at all of the Autobots standing around them. "Autobots, it seems that we have greatly underestimated the situation here on Earth. The Decepticons have done enough harm to these people. So I think it's time we put an end to it." He spoke in a strong, powerful tone.

All of the other Autobots nodded sharply before throwing their fists into the air with a cheer. They were looking forward to whatever fight they had to fight with the Decepticons.

"The Decepticons will be taught not to mess around with sentient beings! Not with us here!" The Silver identical twin said holding up a fist to his twin. "Right, Sunstreaker?"

"Right, Sideswipe!" the yellow twin remarked, bumping his twin's fist.

Anna just smiled brightly, with a few of the other humans. They were completely in awe at what these robots were going to do for them. They felt as if they might have hope after all. So it couldn't be helped that some of the other humans smiled and nodded as they looked at one another.

But then a hand clamped down on Anna's shoulder and forced her to spin around. She yelped in surprise as she looked up at who it was and was even more surprised to see a very angry and stunned Will glaring down at her. He was gripping her arms tightly, making her wince.

"Who the hell put you up to this, Anna? Who told you about Annabelle?" Will suddenly snapped at her, gripping her arms tightly.

Somewhat annoyed and angry of how tight he was gripping her arms, Anna yanked her arms free from his grip and stepped back, glaring at him. "What the hell, Will? What the hell are you talking about?" She snapped back at him.

Will shook his head as he glared fiercely at her before jabbing a finger into her face. He looked between furious and scared as he continued to glare at her. "You are not Annabelle May Lennox! You can't be Annabelle!" He nearly yelled at her.

"What? Why can't I be, Will? What is your problem?" Anna demanded, folding her arms and looking rightfully angry and confused.

"Because Annabelle May Lennox is dead! You can't be Annabelle Lennox! She was my daughter! My baby girl died during the first wave of the Decepticons' attack with her mother!" Will shouted.

Everything seemed to have stopped as everyone stared wide eyed between Will and Anna. But it was the Autobots who moved. Some of them stepped back, looking completely bewildered. They weren't sure what was going on. But Anna's mouth fell as she stared hard at Will. She felt as if she'd been slapped right in the face by him. What was he talking about? How…..how could he even think that she, more or less, Annabelle May Lennox was his daughter? There was no way that it could be true. "Wha-what? I….Will, my name is Annabelle May Lennox. I've always had that name. It's what my mother named me! And you…! You can't possibly be…!" She was saying.

Will's eyes could have seriously popped right out of his head by how wide they were as he looked at her with anger and shock. He slowly shook his head before grabbing Anna's arms again and gripping them tightly. "What's your mother's name? What was it?" He asked, his voice extremely emotional.

"Her….name?" Anna asked, still a little bewildered. "Her name was Sarah. Sarah Jane Montgomery Lennox."

Mouth falling wide, Will slowly dropped his hands away from her arms before taking an unsteady step back. He looked completely shocked. He looked as if he had seen a ghost, for how pale his face was as he gaped at Anna as if she had grown a new hideous head. Slowly, he brought a trembling hand up to his hair, gripping the side of his head as if he had a headache.

Nearby, Epps covered his mouth with both hands, his dark skinned face rather pale as he let his eyes flick between his best friend and Anna. "Holy…..Sh-it." He muttered, stunned. He quickly looked at Will. "Will! Holy shit! It's…..it's her! She's….Anna!" He looked wildly at her. "Anna, do you even know what this means?" He nearly gasped.

"I hope someone does. Because my processor sure hurts right now. What's going on? I don't get it." The silver twin, Sideswipe remarked, scratched the back of his metal head.

Groaning loudly, one of the most silent of the Autobots gave him a look. But the odd thing was, it sounded very much like a female. The Autobot was rather tall, yet a few several feet shorter than Optimus Prime, who was watching the scene below them in silence. The Autobot was a rosy pink and black color, her arms folded across her chest. "Oh, for the love of Primus, Sideswipe. It's not that hard to figure it out. He is her Creator. She is his offspring. They didn't know that each other was even alive until now." She spoke in a soft voice.

"Well…..excuse me, Elita. I'm not stupid but I'm not exactly a genius either. I'm still trying to figure out this whole Earthling thing." Sideswipe groaned.

"Whoa! Is that a girl? What the hell? You have genders?" Glenn gasped.

Some of the Autobots gave him a look as if he was the weirdest person they had ever met. And he probably was. The short silver Autobot snorted as he folded his arms across his chest. "Ye-ah. What, you thought we were all mechs? What, you think we're all ga…" He was saying.

The female robot shot him a look as she cleared her throat. "Jazz, stop it. I'm not even surprised that none of the humans know about the femmes." She looked back down at the gaping in surprise humans. "There are not very many females among the Decepticon ranks as it is. So I'm not surprised they didn't know that we maybe robotic, but we are similar in certain ways." She remarked. "My name is Elita one, by the way."

"NO!" Anna suddenly blurting out, making everyone look back at her and Will with surprise. She was still gawking at Will just as he was at her. "No! You can't…..you can't be my father, Will! This is…..it's impossible! My mother said that my father is dead! He died….at the Qatar Forwards Operations Base! When this whole thing started!"

Will slowly shook his head, looking almost absent minded. "William Lennox." He murmured, looking away from her, still quite stunned. "My name is William Lennox. I…..I married Sarah Jane Montgomery right out of High School and we had a baby girl. We named her Annabelle May Lennox." He breathed. "I never got to see or hold my baby girl because of the war in Iraq." He drew a shaky breath and closed his eyes, squeezing out the tears that had been blinding him. He then reopened them and looked at Anna. "No wonder you look like Sarah. You're…you're Annabelle. My…..I can't believe this." He then quickly moved towards her as if to gather her up into a hug.

But Anna cringed back, holding up a hand as if trying to keep him away her. She could not believe this for one moment. She was completely in shock as much as he had been. She couldn't even gather her emotions. She couldn't figure out if she was angry, shocked, happy, scared. "You're…you can't be…" She said stunned before looking at him and squinting her eyes at him. "You're my father."

"Annabelle…" Will said, trying to move closer to her.

But again, Anna stepped back, holding up her hand higher and her face darkening. "Where were you, Will? If you're really my father and you've been alive all this time, then where the hell were you when Mom and I were captured by the Decepticons and enslaved? Why didn't you come for us?" She asked, her tone somewhat dead.

Will stared at her as if he'd been stung by her before he let out a sigh and looked down at the ground. He couldn't even imagine how to explain to her. "Annabelle….." He muttered softly.

"Where the hell were you? Why didn't you come for us?" Anna suddenly raised her voice, glaring at him with tear-filled eyes. "Mom said you were dead! She thought you were dead! Did you know she cried about you all of the time when I tried asking about you? Didn't you try to call her? To let her know that you were alive! Didn't you even look for us?"

Sighing painfully, Will kept his eyes adverted from her as he slowly shook his head. "No. I didn't. I was stuck fighting the Decepticons in Mission ity. I guess….I guess I just…..got too busy fighting in this damn war. I just…..I saw the old house, where we used to live in, Annabelle. It was destroyed. I just…..I just assumed that…both of you…you were gone…..I thought you were…" He couldn't even completely say. "Annabelle, I am so sorry! If I just would have known! If I would have even thought that you….!" He was saying.

"You assumed that we were dead?" Anna asked dryly, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Oh, shit." Epps muttered, now turning away. He did not want to see this. He knew where this was going. He knew what was about to happen. And he couldn't even bear to even watch, more or less, listen.

And so did Will. He looked at Anna with a pained look before stepping forward, reaching for her. "Annabelle, please." He begged softly.

"Don't!" Anna suddenly blurted out, jerking back away from him. Tears were streaming down her face as she glared at him. She just couldn't believe this. She couldn't believe Will's words. "Don't fucking touch me, Will! You are not my father! How could you even assume that mom and I were dead! You didn't even look for us! You were too god damned busy fighting! I understand why you were fighting but you still didn't even look!" She sobbed angrily, her arms wrapping around herself. "Do you even know what mom and I went through? Do you know what the Decepticons did to us? We were god damned slaves! We were Starscream's slaves! He tortured us, he threatened us! He ordered us around! He KILLED MOM!" She nearly screamed at him before she began tugging at her shirt, trying to pull it over his head, ignoring some of the murmurs from people and Autobots as they watched her.

"Annabelle, don't….." Will begged softly, shaking his head.

But Anna ignored him as she yanked her shirt over her head and turned her scarred back towards him, pointing at it. "Look what he did to me, Will! Look what he did! He beat the shit out of me!"

"Oh, my Primus." Breathed the female Autobot, Elita One. She had a hand covering the lower part of her face, as she looked wildly at Optimus Prime, who looked almost emotionless as he saw the scars on her back. "That's…..that's just….."

"I'm going to fragging kill him." The big black robot growled, his eyes flickering from red to blue.

"Do you want to know why Starscream beat me like this, Will?" Anna continued, ignoring the startled murmurs of the Autobots. She turned to face Will, who had his eyes tightly closed as a few streams of tears went down his cheeks. "Will! Do you want to know why he did this to me? Do you want to know why he whipped me fifteen times with a wire whip?"

Opening his pained eyes, Will looked directly into her eyes. "Why?" He asked, though sounding as if those were death words.

"Because I fell in love." Anna said dryly, her cheeks stained wet from her tears. "I fell in love with a man named Pete. We were going to run away together and join you with DATAR. We were going to join you and fight the Decepticons! Bu-but we were found out! Starscream whipped him until there was hardly any skin left on his skin! He was killed in the Cyber Games! Megatron put him to death in the Cyber Games against Reavers and then it was Thundercracker who murdered the man that I loved! And then Starscream whipped me!" She sobbed harder, slightly bending over as she clutched her bare stomach. "They are all dead, Will! Mom! Pete! Jesse! All of them! And all you did was assume that I was dead! If you would have just fucking looked for me and mom, just even for one moment! If you would have just came after us, came for us, none of this would have happened! Mom could still be alive! I wouldn't have met Pete or Jesse and they wouldn't have died!"

"I…..I'm sorry, Anna…" Will said, now crying with her.

Anna shook her head, sobs choking her now. She was shaking as she looked at him painfully. "Will….for eighteen years, eighteen miserable years, I hated my father. I hated him for all that I could remember because he didn't come for me and my mother. I've always dreamed of him being like you. But now…now that my father is you," She choked, her expression darkening. "I don't want to hate you, Will! But, now finding out that you're my father...I...hate...! GOD! I can't even say it!" She cried before whirling around and hurrying away.

"Annabelle!" Will called after her, now quickly moving to follow her.

"I wouldn't do that right now, Will." Maggie said, her eyes slightly blurry from emotion as she had watched the pain between newly found father and daughter. She wasn't the only one. Nearly everyone was looking rather upset about what they just watched. "Will, she's in shock right now. You both are. Anna needs some time to cool down. If you go after her now, she will just get madder and she will continue yelling at you. Let her calm down first before trying to talk to her again."

Will looked painfully at her before he sighed and reached up with one hand, pressing his face into it. He couldn't believe this. His little girl was alive and he had thought she was dead all of that time. He hadn't even looked for her, assuming that she'd been dead. He couldn't blame her for being so angry. He was angry at himself for not even trying. He hadn't tried. He just assumed that his wife and daughter were dead after seeing their demolished house. He hadn't even searched the ruins to see if there were even any bodies. He had just assumed. It had broken his heart to think that Sarah and Annabelle had been dead but it hurt even more to find out that his daughter was alive and she had been tortured and brutalized by the Decepticons. What made things worst, he hadn't even tried.

For a very long time, there was nothing but silence. Everyone, human and Autobot couldn't speak. They couldn't figure out what to say.

"Autobots," Optimus Prime finally spoke up, his tone rather serious and deadly as he looked around at all seven of his comrades. "Megatron just gave me a reason to rip his Spark out."

The big black Autobot named Ironhide snorted as he narrowed his burning but flickering from blue to red eyes. "I call dibs on that fragging Starscream. He's going to learn why he should NEVER hurt a youngling like that kid!" He growled angrily.

"HEY!" Sideswipe suddenly cried out, giving him a pouty look. "Sunny and I wanted to kick Starscream's aft!"

The look that Ironhide gave him and his yellow colored twin was almost sinister and yet daring. "You really wanna fight me for dibs on Starscream, Sideswipe?" He growled and then snorted when both twins quickly held up their hands and backed down. "That's what I fragging well thought!"

Sighing heavily, Optimus Prime looked down at Will and Epps, already figuring out that they were the leaders of these human rebels. But seeing that Will wasn't looking like he was in the mood to pay attention to him, he turned his eyes onto the darker colored man. "It would be wise to get moving away from this place. The Decepticons will not stay away from here very long. But as long as there were only five of them and more of us, they will not return here without reinforcements. Take as long as you need to rest and recover after the attack. I and the Autobots will stand guard and protect all of you from them. When you are ready, we can discuss what your destination will be." He told him calmly.

Epps sighed wearily as he reached up and patted Will on the back, who merely glanced at him. He did not look too happy though. And everyone could see why with him looking around at all of their fallen. "Thanks, man. But I don't think we're going to be doing much resting. There's too many bodies to deal with. And I sure as hell ain't leaving them lying around for Reavers to come around and start picking at." He remarked then he motioned to all of the other humans. "Hey, guys, let's start gathering all of the bodies. We don't have time bury them. So we'll burn them. I hate to say that, but there's just too many right now."

Everyone nodded, wearily and began moving in many directions to do as they had been told. They began going past bodies, checking them for life before moving on.

"What are Reavers?" the shortest silver Autobot asked, frowning.

Heaving another sigh, Epps shook his head. "Trust me, man. You don't even want to know. Let's just say that not all humans left on Earth isn't exactly what you would want to save or help. Quite a few of the humans still alive went pretty insane after all of the life with the Decepticons. A lot of them went mad and even turned to cannibalism." He warned them.

Some of the Autobots groaned in misery to hear that. They got the idea pretty well by what he was trying not to say. Optimus Prime sighed heavily and shook his head as he looked away from him. "I could only wished we have arrived sooner. If we had, all of this could have been avoided. Please, forgive us." He told Epps.

But Epps shook his head as he snorted and forced a smile up at him. "Man, it ain't your fault. You didn't know. You didn't know what the hell was going on around here. You didn't even know where those damn Decepticons were even hiding out." He placed his hands onto his waist and looked around with a pained look at all of the dead bodies. "And we should have been paying more attention to our surroundings. We might've seen those damn Cons coming if we had. We shouldn't have been out in the open spaces. They probably saw us coming fromChicago." He remarked.

"Actually," the smallest Autobot spoke up, holding up a finger as he carefully moved towards Optimus Prime, Epps and Will, who was still standing right behind his best friend, looking miserable as he tried to sort out through his thoughts. He looked almost timid as he looked at the two humans but then looked up at the Autobot Leader. They were silent for a moment before Optimus Prime frowned and then nodded as if telling him to go ahead with whatever he was going to say. The seven foot Autobot looked down at Epps who was not that much shorter than him. "My name is Blaster. I'm the Communications Officer with the Autobots. I'm the one who discovered Annabelle May Lennox's SOS." He gave Epps a rather serious but nervous look at the same time. "The reason why we found you in this location in the first place is not only because of the Decepticon attack. We were about five miles away when I picked up a transmission. You're not going to like this though." He told him.

"What?" Epps asked, almost accusingly.

Even now, Will was paying attention. He frowned, wiping his face with the back of his hand to listen in. He hadn't liked the tone that the Autobot was using when he was explaining how they found them. "What is it?" He asked, wearily.

Blaster looked from one to the other before he dipped his head down a little, his eyes flickering around. "The signal that I picked up is not a human's signature. And since I am this close to both of you, I'm sensing that you two are not of the suspected. You are both human. The majority of your people are humans. But there is one that is not. The signature that I'm sensing feels like…" He paused, frowning as if concentrating. "It feels like a Pretender. You may have a traitor among you. And that traitor, the Pretender sent a signal to the Decepticons to acknowledge your location."

Both Will and Epps frowned, completely surprised. That was not good news at all. "What the hell is a Pretender?" Epps was the one to ask, though lowering his voice so that no one else could over hear. If there was a traitor among them, they did not want to let that traitor know of what they knew now.

"Decepticons who can take the appearance of a human." Blaster explained quietly, looking around. "They can easily blend in with you and fool you. They are perfect for espionage and close range assassination. They could get close to you and you won't even know they're there until they strike. It will be more than likely that the Pretender is someone close to you. Someone who has been trying to befriend you. That's how they work." He told them. "To even find one out, you have to look for one that's not hurt or injured in anyway. They don't bleed like humans. They're very difficult to damage."

Having overheard, Sam looked around with wild eyes and moved closer, earning a rather suspicious frown from Will and Epps. But he shook his head and held up a hand, which had been scrapped pretty bad during the Decepticon attack and it was bleeding. "It isn't me. I hurt my hand, see?" He looked at Blaster. "So you're saying that we have a spy? Do you know who it is?"

"A silent killer." Blaster corrected quietly before looking towards the lime green Autobot, who merely tilted his head towards them, while scanning bodies as if searching for life and helping out the humans find their injured. "I won't be able to detect the Pretender, myself. I'm just a Communications Officer. But Ratchet can. He just has to scan all your humans. He will be able to find the Pretender with no problem."

Glancing at one another, Will and Epps nodded slowly as they let their eyes flick away from one another and look around at all of the remaining humans. They didn't like the idea of having to rely on an alien robot to find their traitor but to weed out their suspicions, they knew it was best.

"All right. Have him do it then." Will said quietly.

Blaster nodded and looked back at Ratchet, as if talking to him even though his back was to him. He seemed to have said something to the Autobot Medical Chief for the lime green Autobot slowly nodded before starting to carefully scan the other humans while they weren't looking.

"In the mean time, if you would like some assistance, I will have the Autobots help your people gather your fallen." Optimus Prime spoke up, as if there was no suspicion at all.

For the first time since the war with the Decepticons started, Will looked gratefully towards the large metallic being. He looked tired, but grateful. "That would great. Thank you." He started to turn away but then stopped as if he remembered something. He heaved a sigh and turned back to Optimus Prime. "I need to apologize for earlier and for later." He shook his head when the Autobot Leader looked at him curiously. "Look, I don't like your kind. Alien robots. That's why we are called DATAR. Destroy All The Alien Robots. For eighteen fucking years, I thought my family was killed by them. That's why I even started this group. To fight and get revenge for what the Decepticons did. And now, all of a sudden my daughter is alive." He let his gaze flicker over to Bumblebee, who seemed to be having an amusing conversation with the twins. "I didn't even trust him when Sam brought him along. But Anna, Sam, and even Epps. They trust him and I didn't. I treated him like shit. I guess I have to say sorry to him next." He looked back up at Optimus Prime. "But because of what you did and you're doing for us, I'm shoving all of my feelings back to give some trust towards you. But I can't guarantee you that I'll be nice 24/7. So if I snap at you or one of you people, I'm sorry." He told him.

Optimus Prime just shook his head and held up a hand to him as if halting his apology already. "I completely understand. So do all of my Autobots. You have been through a lot because of the Decepticons. The trust that you will have of us will be unsteady because we are like them, only with different point of views. I do not expect you to openly trust us so easily. All of my Autobots knows this." He then glanced side wards at the large black Autobot that was standing farthest away, watching something in the darkness. It was the direction that Anna had taken off in, so it was more than likely he was watching her, making sure she wasn't being put into any danger while she was trying to calm herself down after the confrontation between her and Will. "But I suppose I must caution you with Ironhide. He may see your dislike of us or any kind of insult you may throw at us as a challenge. He is my only Autobot that is always looking for a fight. He knows my rules against harming humans and he will follow them. But he will not hesitate to pull his cannons on you for if you insult his pride or threaten any one of us." He looked back at Will, who was frowning. "It's mostly just a scare tactic. He would never harm a human. But still, be warned."

Slowly, Will nodded, still eyeing the big black Autobot. "Okay. I'm warned. But he's not dangerous, is he?" He asked, carefully.

Optimus Prime just looked at him with a very serious look. "He is, but only to Decepticons. He is one of my best men, the Weapons Specialist. He does have quite the temper and you will come to see that in time. But he will protect your people if not better than anyone. Especially the young one, seeing that your daughter, Annabelle is the youngest among your people. He tends to be overprotective of younglings if nothing else. He is even protective of our youngest Autobot, whom is Bumblebee. There has never been a time that one of the Decepticons have tried to hurt him without facing the consequences by Ironhide. He will be the same with your daughter. But I must say, I am glad to see that nothing had happened to Bumblebee. Ironhide wouldn't have taken it so well."

Epps smiled as he glanced over at the yellow and black Autobot with the twins. "Then I guess Sam better not tell that big black guy about what did happen to Yellow, there." He looked at Sam, who snorted weakly as he looked hesitantly over at his Autobot friend. "He ain't gonna like the fact that he ended up in forced sleep mode or whatever you robots call it for about fifteen years."

"No. I suspect not." Optimus Prime said, though he sounded rather cautious. He was tempted of asking the young man called Sam about what happened to Bumblebee. But he figured that it was best not to even know.

"Well, either way, Yellow's been good to everyone while he was with us. He was especially good to Anna…..or Annabelle. When she came to us and found out about him, she kind of flipped. She's terrified of you, robot guys. Or at least of the Decepticons. She was scared of Bumblebee until he showed her how gentle he could be. He helped her out alot. And now, she kind of adores him. They're pretty close to one another and with Sam." Epps said, jerking his head towards the young man beside him. His expression then darkened at the thought. "Tell you what, big blue and red," He looked up at Optimus Prime, who didn't seem to care of what he called him. "Those damn Decepticons did a number on her. Anna, I mean. What Ol' Screamer did to her, I wanna kill him. Will wants to kill him. Everyone just about wants to kill him. Even Yellow wants to kill him."

Frowning rather seriously, Optimus Prime shook his head. "You will not need to worry about Starscream if Ironhide has his way, like he wants it. If he gets his hands on Starscream, the Seeker will most likely suffer, even if it is against our beliefs. Ironhide does not forgive so easily. And he has no respect for Starscream." He told them.

Will just nodded, now looking rather darkly up at him. "Good. If I don't get to that son of a bitch first, Ironhide can do whatever he would like to him." He said with a slight growl to his tone. "No one hurts my daughter and gets away with it."

"He will be glad to hear that from you." Optimus Prime said with amusement.

"Optimus!" Ratchet suddenly spoke up, seriously. "We have it! I know who the Pretender is!"

Everyone, Autobots and humans froze with alarm as they looked over at him. The lime green Autobot was still standing right where he had been, but his eyes had paused on one person, who stood stock still, staring right back up to him. She looked rather uneasy by the way he had been staring at her for a moment. But hearing what she said, her mouth fell open with surprise and she stared back at him.

"What? What are you looking at me for?" She asked, uneasily.

It was Maggie.


	16. Chapter Fifteen

"Maggie?" Will and Epps both exclaimed at the same time, looking just as shocked as she did. They did not believe it for one second. They had known her for years now. There was no way, no way in hell that she could have been an alien robot in disguise of a human and not letting them knowing about it.

Maggie looked wildly at them and then to Ratchet. "What? What's wrong?" She asked, nervously.

"NO! Not her! Behind her!" Ratchet quickly said.

But it was kind of too late.

The person standing behind her had tensed up when Ratchet suddenly made his declaration of a Pretender. But he knew he'd been found out. He hissed viciously before he lashed out and wrapped an arm around Maggie's neck, yanking her close to his chest, all the while she yelped in alarm. Maggie tried to jerk away from him but he held so tight that she could barely even move. "Who the fuck dares to touch me…..!" She exclaimed angrily. She tried to jerk her elbow back to hit the man holding her and suddenly cried out when all she hit was metal. "Ow!"

Everyone stood stock still with alarm when they saw who it was that had her.

Dark eyes slowly starting to glow red, the soldier, Stevens kept a tight hold around Maggie's neck while his very flesh seemed to burn away, revealing metal underneath. His very human image flaked away and everyone saw what he really was. Especially as a thin serpentine like body burst from his very body, shedding his human look like a snake skin. Sharp waving whips of metal clicked right out of his back and began twirling all around Maggie, pointing a sharp tip right under her neck, jabbing her skin but not breaking it yet.

Maggie had no choice but to stay still and look wild eyed at everyone standing around with shock or anger. All of the Autobots immediately had their weapons out and pointed at her and her attacker.

"Stevens? It's you? You're the Pretender!" Epps exclaimed. "What the hell? You've been with us for nearly five years now! How the hell couldn't we see that?"

Giving him a very dry look, Stevens the Pretender snorted as he shook his head. "Obviously," He hissed, his voice completely metallic. "I'm not the real Stevens. I took his place a long time ago. Perhaps just about a year and a half ago. The real Stevens is dead." He sneered at them. He pressed the sharp tip harder into Maggie's neck, making her hiss as he finally broke skin and a small trickle of blood began to run down her neck and the metal tentacle. It was due to Will and the rest of the DATAR joining the Autobots to pointing their rifles at him. "Ah! Careful. You don't want our dear pretty Aussie losing her head, now do we?"

Glenn, for the first time, looked rather fierce as he pointed his rifle at the Pretender. He looked extremely pissed off that this…..this thing was threatening Maggie! "You fucking son of a bitch! Let her go!" He snarled.

Stevens the Pretender sneered in his direction as he let his burning red glare flicker over to him. "Oh, you going to shoot me, Glenn? Shoot me for the bitch of your dreams?" He snorted when Glenn glowered at him. "We all know you're a lousy shot. You couldn't even hit yourself even if you were pointing the gun at your fucking head."

"You do realize that you are completely outnumbered, Pretender." Ironhide growled, keeping his cannons trained on him.

"And you do realize that I'm holding a human between us, Iron-aft?" Stevens said dryly as he looked up at him lazily. "What, you don't think I haven't heard about you from my master, Sideways? The whole lot of you fucking Autobots? You won't do anything to harm a human. As long as she's right here between us, being threatened in my arms, you aren't going to shoot me."

Everyone glared at him.

"Just fucking shoot!" Maggie snarled keeping a tight grip on the arm wrapped around her neck. She hissed when Stevens the Pretender, moved the sharp tip already piercing her skin. "Just god damn shoot it!"

"What the fuck are you doing, Stevens?" Will snapped, keeping his rifle trained on the Pretender, who moved his head a little further behind Maggie's as if knowing that he had been aiming at it. "Blaster, here, just told us that Pretenders use their human forms to get close to their targets! You've been here with us for almost a year now! So what the hell were you waiting for? Who were you trying to kill?"

Stevens peered around Maggie's head, sneering at him and shaking his own head. "I've been trying to get close you, of course. You, Will and Epps, were my targets. I've been trying to get close to you and kill you for awhile now. I've been waiting for the sign from my leader, Sideways. He's been using me to keep an eye on you, waiting for the right time to have me kill you both. He's been itching so hard to become a trusted warrior under Megatron. But you want to know who the hell keeps getting into his way?" His expression darkened viciously. "That fragging son of a glitch, Starscream. That fragging Seeker just keeps getting into his way. Killing you and bringing your heads to Megatron was Sideways' only option to getting the position he's been trying so hard to even get." He then smirked icily as he looked directly at Will. "Of course, just imagine what my reaction was when Starscream's little favorite just showed right up. And even better, she's your daughter."

Will's eyes flashed and he gripped his rifle tighter in his hand. "You fucking touch Annabelle and I will rip you to pieces!" He snarled.

Smirking at him, Stevens the Pretender slowly shook his head. "Oh, yeah? Do I need to remind you of how suspicious you were of her when she first showed up, saying that she sent out an SOS to the Autobots? You pretty much ignored her when she tried so hard to get your attention. And do I need to remind you, William Lennox, that your precious little daughter hates you now because of how much she hated her daddy?" He sneered as he lift his head up a little higher, looking in the direction where Anna had even gone after yelling at Will. "Why don't we just ask her what she thinks? ANNA! HEY, ANNA!" He called.

Moments before, after running away from Will, feeling completely overwhelmed to finding out that her father had been alive all this time and that it was actually Will, Anna was leaning against a tree, staring wide eyed at the ground. She just could not believe this. She couldn't believe that her father was alive. More or less, her father was the infamous DATAR Founder, Will. She just could not believe it. It was easy to say that she was in shock. She just couldn't believe.

Truth be told, Anna couldn't sort out her feelings about it all. She couldn't figure out how she felt. She was completely stunned, angry, excited, alarmed but most of all, she felt something she never thought she would feel.

She felt…happy.

Anna couldn't understand why she felt happy. She had hated her father for almost her entire life after thinking he'd been killed in the very first Decepticon attack. She had hated him for supposedly dying and leave her and her mother to the claws of Decepticons. But after finding out that her father was alive and he was Will, she felt a strange feeling of happiness.

Groaning to herself, Anna knew she shouldn't have yelled at Will like she just had. She couldn't believe herself for reacting the way she had. He had been suffering just as bad as she had and she had treated him like he was a murdering or thieving criminal. She felt so horrible now. She knew why she couldn't have told him that she hated him. She knew that it wasn't true. She didn't hate him. She couldn't. He'd been through hell, thinking that she was dead. Just like her.

Still, she couldn't wrap her fingers around the idea that Will was her father. He was the most Legendary Human on the planet of Earth. He was the biggest threat to the Decepticons. They were searching the globe, trying to hunt him and Epps down. Other than the Autobots, Will and Epps seemed to make the Decepticons worry.

But how in the world could she even live up to a reputation like Will's? How could she even prove that she was his daughter? There was no way she could ever be strong or brave or even …be like him! It was impossible and that's what scared her the most.

"Hey."

Anna gasped sharply as she jolted upward off the tree and looked to see who was walking towards her from the shadows. She was surprised to see that it was actually the very last person that she would ever expect.

Alice.

And for some reason, she was looking at her with concern.

"Uh….." Anna couldn't help but mutter, quite suspicious.

Alice bit her lip and twirled a strand of wavy hair around her finger before she stepped even closer. She looked rather unsure of what to say or do. She didn't even look like she was sure why she was going near Anna. "Um….can…..can I talk to you?" She asked, making a face.

Frowning at her, Anna just had to stare at her, the suspicion quite clear in her eyes. She couldn't help but wonder why Alicewas even talking to her. Not after all of the clashes she had brought to her. What brought on the concern in Alice's eyes? Was she trying to pull her leg and hurt her again? But slowly, Anna nodded, though not helping but cringe back a little from her.

Alice grimaced as she stepped closer but folded her arms across her chest and lean against the same tree as Anna. She flickering her eyes to and away from the other blonde, looking almost very careful about what to say to her.

There was a long silence while both blondes looked at each other with caution. But there was more suspicion in Anna's eyes thanAlice's.

"So…..um…..are you all right?"Alice finally asked.

Frowning and narrowing her eyes, Anna just stared at her. She wasn't sure what to make of Alice's sudden concern for her. She wondered why she was being nice to her all of a sudden. What was her angle? "Why do you care?" She asked suspiciously.

Alice glanced into her eyes before she slowly shook her head. She heaved a sigh before looking away. "I don't know. I guess…I guess just watching you and Will…..learning something like that….it's just…..it got to me. You just….you've thought that your father was dead all this time and you suddenly find him. And you watched Starscream kill your mother. And you did lose a guy that you say that you love." She made a face and looked away. "Anna…..in truth, I envy you." She told her.

Anna frowned, looking at her in surprise. "What?" She asked.

"I envy you. I'm jealous of you."Alice said, sounding a little weary and impatient as she looked at her. "I also feel sorry for you because of what you've been through. Everyone that you've lost in your life, all of this," She shook her head, glancing away before she looked back at Anna. "Anna, I lied to you."

Anna frowned at her, wondering what she was talking about. "What? Lied about what?" She asked, in confusion.

Almost rolling her eyes but choosing at the last second to not to, Alice shook her head as she looked into Anna's eyes. "I was Shockwave's servant, that much is true. He did force me to have sexual intercourses with men all of the time, but that was just to make them squirm. But being pregnant four times, and living in a cage, that was all lie. Really, I can't have kids. I'm not exactly qualified for that kind of thing." She told her, quietly.

"Why did you lie to me?" Anna asked almost hurt and angry.

Alice shook her head as she looked away from her. She looked almost as if she didn't dare to look at Anna at all, as if she was ashamed or something. "I was just trying to hurt you. I'm a bitch, remember? That's how I was born. How I've always been." She finally looked at her. "Anna, like I said, I was jealous of you. You don't even realize what you have. You thought you lost both of your parents but now that you have a father, who really is one of the greatest men I've ever met. You have friends. You actually are adored by a Decepticon, believe it or not." She shook her head and held up a hand when Anna looked like she was going to argue. "Believe me, Anna. I wasn't lying when I told you that I know all about you, that I've heard almost everything about you. You've never realized it, but we have met before. Well….barely, anyway. I've seen you with Starscream. You never saw it, but the way that freak looked at you, it was like you were his own Sparkling. He really did adore you. You just didn't see it." She told her.

Anna really didn't know what to say. She just frowned as she looked away from Alice. She never realized it. She couldn't even see how Starscream saw her. She had been a human slave to him. That's all that she saw from him. But after getting beaten by him, tortured…she hated him.

"And that whole thing with Will,"Alice spoke up again, making Anna look back at her. She looked weary again. "I don't blame you for being angry. And I know he doesn't either. You've been through so much and he didn't even look for you or your mother. But…" She paused, making a face. "I've spent a whole year with the DATAR and I've been watching him the entire time. The misery that was in his eyes, the reason why he was such a hard-ass, he was in so much pain. He was really suffering, Anna. And did you even see the look on his face when you told him that you…" She was saying.

Sighing heavily, Anna looked away. "I don't hate him, Alice. I just…..I'm just confused." She told her.

Alice shrugged as she folded her arms and looked at her with a faint smile. "I guess I can't blame you there. I'd be confused too." She told her in a quiet voice. She then frowned and looked away from Anna, seeing the glowing blue eyes that were watching them from a short distance. She groaned, catching Anna's attention.

"What?" Anna had to ask.

Alice glanced at her before rolling her eyes and looking forward almost impatiently. "Just the big black Autobot, Ironhide. He's watching us." She muttered.

Looking away from her, Anna looked to see that the Autobot called Ironhide was indeed watching them. She made a face, wondering why it bothered Alice so much. She was of course, wondering why he was watching them, too. But it didn't bother her as much as it looked like it withAlice. "I wonder why he's staring at us." She muttered almost absentmindedly.

Shaking her head and making an impatient look, Alice just shifted her stance. "From what I've heard about that one, he's protective over kids. He's watching you. He's just making sure that you don't get yourself into trouble." She told her.

"And…..how do you know that?" Anna asked, now sounding a little suspicious.

Alice stiffened as she looked at her. She looked like she was a deer caught in headlights. She even opened her mouth as if to make up an excuse but then her head jerked around when they heard a shout. Even Anna stood up straight and looked in the same direction. They heard someone shouting from the camp. It sounded like the Autobot called Ratchet. He sounded like he had found something.

But twisting her mouth almost angrily, Alice gave a low hiss. "That idiot." She swore.

Anna looked at her with a frown, wondering what she was talking about. She didn't know who she was talking about more or less. "Huh? What do you mean…?" She was asking.

"ANNA! HEY, ANNA!"

Frowning, Anna looked back towards the camp after hearing someone calling her name. She pushed herself off the tree and started to head back but stopped when Alice grabbed her arm. She felt herself start as she looked at the intensive look that the other blonde was giving her. "What?" She asked her.

Slowly shaking her head, Alice let go of her. "Be careful. You're not going to like this." She warned her.

Looking completely surprised, Anna frowned before she turned and hurried back towards the camp. She could hear shouting from several people. She wondered what in the world was going on. It sounded like there was a fight happening. She glanced over her shoulder to see that Alice was still standing under the tree, not moving for a moment before she started after her.

A moment later after walking back into the camp, Anna saw exactly what was happening. She felt her breath catch in her chest as soon as she saw the strange Decepticon with Maggie.

"Maggie!" Anna gasped, now running towards them but ended up stopping when Sam grabbed her arm and kept her from moving any closer. "What's going on? What's happening? Maggie!" She cried out.

The Pretender smirked viciously from behind Maggie as he looked right at her. He kept his arm tight around her throat, pressing the sharp tip deeper into her neck and making Maggie hiss in pain. "Annabelle, we were just talking about you." He spoke.

Anna stiffened, recognizing that voice. She couldn't help but narrow her eyes and stare hard at him. "What the hell…..? Stevens?" She felt herself ask in alarm.

Again, the Pretender that was Stevens smirked at her as he dipped his head around Maggie's head but continued to look at her. "That's right. It's me, Stevens. I'm a Decepticon called a Pretender. And I'm holding your best friend ransom. Now, I'm going to make a deal with you. You don't want to lose another friend, now do you? After all those people you lost, you don't want to lose another friend." He said with an acid tone.

Her lips pursing, now feeling angry, Anna stood up straighter and pulled away from Sam. "What do you want?" She asked in a dry tone.

"Well, when I first came here, I was suppose to kill the great leaders of DATAR, Will and Epps. I've been waiting for the right time to move." Stevens the Pretender said almost slyly. "But just recently, my orders were changed. I've received the orders to deal with you. It's either capture you and take you to my master, Sideways, so he can deliver you to Lord Megatron, himself. Or it's to kill you. So, here's the deal. You're little friend, here, for you. You can decide to trade yourself for Maggie."

"NO! Annabelle, don't you dare!" Will yelled, giving her a look.

Anna shot him a look before she looked back at Stevens and folded her arms. She was seriously getting so tired of this. She was constantly being threatened and having her friends threatened by the Decepticons. She certainly was getting really pissed about it. "All right." She said coldly as she took a step towards them.

"Anna! What the hell do you think you're doing? Don't you dare!" Maggie yelled in bewilderment.

Shaking her head, Anna just looked at her before looking around at all of the surprised and stunned looks on everyone's faces. Even some of the Autobots looked alarmed that she was doing that. But it was Optimus Prime and the black Autobot, Ironhide who were eyeing her as if they knew something. "I'm getting so tired of everyone being threatened because of me. This is going to end right now." She said.

Will shook his head as he dropped his rifle and started towards her, looking angry. "Annabelle, no! I am not going to allow you to...!" He was yelling.

Giving him a cool look, Anna stepped away from him. She clearly pinned him with that look she was giving him. "Don't you dare say anything, Will! I don't want to hear it from you! This is about me! I'm always the one who everyone seems to get hurt over! So I'm putting it to an end!" She turned towards Stevens and Maggie and moved towards them. "He wants me, he can have me." She said coldly.

"NO!" Will and several others shouted.

But Anna ignored all of them as she sped walked right over to Stevens, who smirked icily as he waited for her to come to him. He only threw Maggie hard away from him when she was just a few feet away from them and grabbed Anna, yanking her into his arms and pressing a sharp tip right under her neck. Maggie had stumbled and nearly fell to the ground if not for Glenn catching her and holding her up on her feet. "Good choice, Annabelle." He said with a sneer before looking over at the hateful glare that Will and everyone was giving him. They were keeping their guns trained on him, though they didn't shoot because they didn't have a clear shot. "Now, Annabelle and I are leaving. Anyone tries to come after us, I will kill her. Either way," He sneered. "I'll fulfill my mission. Capture or kill. It doesn't matter to me."

"I will not let you leave with my daughter, you fucking machine!" Will snarled as he gripped his rifle tighter in his hand. "I will destroy you."

"You don't need to."

Everyone stiffened, including Anna and Stevens. The voice had come from right behind them. The Pretender spun around, only to jerk when a hand slapped around the sharp tip right under Anna's throat and yanked it away. He and everyone was stunned to see that it was Alice, and her eyes were glowing a fiery red. She was giving Stevens the most deadly look.

"Guess what?"Alice spoke coldly as she gripped Steven's sharp tentacle in her hand. "You failed your mission." She then lashed upward with a foot and kicked Stevens right in the face, making him snarl in rage and pain. Either way, he let Anna go. "Anna! Catch!"

Somewhat startled, Anna quickly caught whatever it was that Alice had thrown at her and barely managed to catch a long jagged blade by the handle. But either way, she understood what exactly the other blonde was intending. Her face growing dark and serious, she nodded before she gripped the blade tightly in her hand. "Like I said, I'm getting so sick and tired of everyone thinking that I'm a weak and helpless little girl. This ends now! I am not weak or helpless! And YOU are not going to threaten my dad or my friends again!" She snapped before she lunged forward and thrust the blade right into Stevens' side, making him snarl in pain.

Angrily, Stevens lashed out with his hand and back handed Anna across the face, sending her reeling. She spun in a few times before crashing against the ground with a cry.

But at that time, Alice was on him. It surprised everyone when her entire form seem to shatter like glass and metal ripped right out of her skin. She looked so much like a metallic Medusa and it shocked everyone as she changed into a completely different being. She was not human, that was easy to say. She was right on Stevens, slamming into him and sending them both crashing and rolling across the ground as they began slashing at each other and snarling like angry snakes.

Anna felt hands grab her and she was jerked up to her feet by Will. She didn't look at him but watched in shock and alarm to see that Alice wasn't what she said that she was. She couldn't believe this. She looked almost exactly like Stevens did. But more or less, she was fighting her own kind.

"What the hell is going on here? What the hell is Alice?" Epps asked, not taking his rifle off the two as they spat and ripped at each other with sharp blades and claws.

"That's another Pretender! But I didn't pick up two Pretenders!" Blaster suddenly exclaimed, looking just as antsy as the other Autobots looked as they watched the two Pretenders rip at each other.

"You know?" Maggie asked as she still remained in Glenn's arm, looking just as bewildered as everyone. "I'm not even surprised that Alice isn't human. Her attitude has been horrible. Especially towards Anna. But what I am surprised about is, why the hell is she fighting one of her own kind?"

"We'll just have to ask her once she gets done ripping that other Pretender apart." The short silver Autobot, Jazz remarked, folding his arms as he watched the show.

It did not even last long.

The two Pretenders were slashing each other with sharp claws and hitting each other with sharp tentacles from behind their heads. But it was very clear of who was a lot faster than Stevens did. Alice ripped metal from his body before she slammed her metal palm against the blade that was still sticking out of his side where Anna had slammed into him. She thrust her palm upward, hitting the hilt hard and slamming the knife harder into his chest. There was an explosion of sparks as something seemed to have been damaged.

Kicking off hard of Stevens' chest, Alice flipped backwards, moving out of the way when gunfire exploded and bullets slammed into Stevens, causing him to snarl and jerk as he was penetrated by the high speed sharp metal. Will, Epps, Sam and the DATAR Soldiers had opened fire on them, even though they weren't followingAliceat all. They were just firing at Stevens, not caring for her at all.

BOOM!

The enormous ball of fire and Energon exploded right out of Ironhide's cannons, making all flinch and jump as they spun around and looked up at him with alarm. Even some of the Autobots were staring at him with alarm. Everyone but Optimus Prime, who just rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"What? I wanted to shoot him too." Ironhide remarked with a shrug.

Many of the Autobots rolled their eyes and shook their heads as they turned away from him and looked over at Alice the Pretender as she slowly reformed back into her human form, smirking as she folded her arms across her chest. Everyone was staring at her with alarm and unease.

"Uh….." Anna couldn't help but mutter as she pulled away from Will, eyeing him uneasily before looking just as uneasy at the smirking Alice.

"You are a Pretender." Optimus Prime stated the obvious.

Alice raised her pencil thin eyebrow but continued to smile icily around at everyone. She didn't even seem to care that some of the Soldiers were still aiming their guns at her. She just stuck out her hip and nodded. "Yes. I am." She remarked.

"Why did…..why did you kill him? Aren't you…..?" Sam asked uneasily.

With a shrug, Alice looked at the smoking, burned pile of scrap metal that was left of Stevens the Pretender. "True, I am just like him. I was sent here by Shockwave, though." She looked back at all of the uneasy and glares she was getting. "I was sent here by Shockwave to do exactly what he was sent here to do. I was sent to assassinate Will and Epps and many of the DATAR." She told them.

Will and Epps glanced at one another before they slowly lowered their rifles, seeing that she wasn't even moving to be threatening. "And why didn't you?" Will was the one to ask.

Alice looked at him with dry eyes but shook her head. "I blame all of you fucking humans for my mission failure. Being around you has made me change my mind. I actually got to know a few of you, heard all of your fragging stories and….." She rolled her eyes. "I had a change of Spark. I couldn't do it. I couldn't listen to my programming to destroy all of you." She looked directly at Anna, who was staring at her torn between angry and just alarmed. " But it was Anna who really got to me."

"Me?" Anna asked before her expression and jabbed a finger at her. "You lied to me again! You said that…!"

Smiling almost wickedly, Alice shook her head as she dropped her hands to her side, letting them just hang there. "I didn't lie to you the second time, Annabelle Lennox. I was being serious. I am Shockwave's servant. Or at least, I was. I'm defecting from the Decepticons. I did have sex with men to make them squirm. That's why, in Maggie's words, I'm a skank." She said with a smile as if she didn't care. "And I'm a bitch. Get over it."

"So what now? Do we get to shoot it?" Ironhide asked with a growl.

There was a long silence as Optimus Prime stared down at Alice, who stared back, almost as if challenging him to give the order. But then slowly, Optimus Prime shook his head. "No. She just said that she's defecting from the Decepticons. Which means, you must have another agenda. May I ask what it is?" He asked, narrowing his eyes and tilting his head to the side.

Alice nodded almost innocently before letting her eyes flicker to Anna. "I meant what I said before, Anna. I said that if the Decepticons tried to hurt all of these people, I would kill the one who was involved." She shook her head when Anna tensed up, remembering the very first threat thatAlicehad ever given her. "I'm not going to kill you, Anna. I'm going to help protect you. These fucking humans have influenced me in the worst way. I may be a bitch, but I certainly don't want to see any of them getting hurt now that I actually know them. When Will pit you against me during training, I was being serious. What I did to you was easy compared to what another Decepticon would do. I guess I should say sorry for kicking you so hard though. I'm surprised at myself for holding back. Just be lucky that I did. I could have easily killed you. Shockwave chose the wrong Pretender to assassinate Will Lennox and Robert Epps."

"How the hell do you know my real name?" Epps asked, sourly.

Smirking, Alice shook her head as she gave her eyebrow a tweak. "I'm a Pretender. I know my targets very well. You think I haven't heard Will call you that by accident once? I'm the best spy there is in the entire Universe. I get knowledge, I use it, and I expose it." She shrugged, looking up at Optimus Prime again. "I might be a Pretender, but I've heard that a Decepticon defecting has happened before." She smiled dryly. "And you know exactly who that Decepticon was, Optimus Prime."

Optimus Prime straightened but remained quiet for a moment before he hummed with amusement. He seemed to know exactly who she was talking about. "He's here, isn't he? On Earth." He said.

"Oh, yeah."Alice said with a smirk. "He's here."

Slowly nodding, the Autobot Leader looked around at everyone. All of his Autobots seemed to know what he was going to say and nodded in agreement. He didn't even need to say anything as he looked down at Will and Epps. They both understood with that very look.

Will just nodded slowly before he looked around at everyone and even toAlice. "Well, then let's go to see this Decepticon that defected." He remarked.


	17. Chapter Sixteen

"Are you freaking kidding me?" Epps suddenly exclaimed with surprise and awe in his tone.

It was only an hour since the humans and the Autobots made the decision of where they were going to go. They had spent the entire hour gathering the dead, finding the injured and helping them. For the past hour, they burned the bodies , hoping to free the lost souls that had been killed merciless by the Decepticons. They had found only a few people still alive but they were not in good shape at all. And for that hour, there had been little talk other than Optimus Prime finally introducing all of his Autobots to everyone and even gathering the names of the remaining humans.

"Elita One," Optimus Prime began with motioning to the female Autobot with them. "A proud and brave Autobot among my people. She is also the leader of the Femme Autobots."

"And his Sparkmate." The silver twin snorted behind his hand.

All of the humans couldn't find something to say but stare at the pair of largest Autobots with surprise and awe. They still couldn't believe that there were actually female Cybertronians. And since meeting Elita One, they figured that there were more. Optimus Prime cleared his vocal processor as he glanced at the silver twin, Sideswipe, but couldn't help but glance at Elita One with an amused smile. She even beamed right back at him before she reached over and touched his arm to prove it that they were indeed an item.

But to move on, Optimus Prime motioned to the large black Autobot, Ironhide next. "Ironhide is the Weapons Specialist and a great ally to have." He stated.

With a wicked glint in his eyes, Ironhide spun his large cannons on his arms and pointed them at everyone. "Stick 'em up." He said in a gruff but highly amused way.

"Ironhide, knock it off." The lime green Autobot remarked dryly.

"What? I'm just showing off my cannons." Ironhide grumbled, though everyone was looking at him with uneasy or in Epps case, he was grinning as he nodded his approval. He was definitely amused with Ironhide's gruff way of intimidation.

Clearing his vocal processor again, Optimus Prime had glanced at Ironhide, giving him a warning look that made the Weapons Specialist decide to put his cannons back where they belonged. He then motioned to the lime green Autobot, Ratchet. "Ratchet is our Chief Medical Officer. One of the finest Medics in the Universe, if not the finest." He stated. Ratchet said nothing but nodded as he continued his work on a few people they found still alive. But it wasn't looking good.

"My Second Lieutenant, Jazz." Optimus Prime spoke as he motioned to the short silver Autobot, who grinned and waved cheekily.

"Waz' crackin', fleshies." Jazz said in a rather gangster way that had a few raising eyebrows at him or smile. They could tell that he was a rather out going fellow just by looking at him.

The two identical Autobots were next.

"Sideswipe and Sunstreaker." Optimus Prime spoke, motioning to the twins who both kicked on energetic music that sounded oddly like Trapt's Headstrong while they both punched the air before putting their backs together and folding their arms in a pose. "They are as you see them, twins. And they are only a set of two twins that are among the Autobots. You will not find very many Cybertronian twins among our kind. They happen rarely."

"How in the hell do you get robot twins? That's what I'm wondering about." Epps asked, eyeing the two brothers with interest.

Ratchet just shrugged as he eyed the two, if not a little sourly. He sure didn't look too amused with them right at the moment. And neither did Ironhide. Both of them were glowering at the two. "Cybertronian twins are created when a single Spark energy splits in two. That's how they were created. But beware, humans. These two may be great warriors on the field and they are nearly our fastest pair that works together every single time, but…" He paused when Ironhide snorted.

"But they're also a pair of trouble making, pain in the aft, always pissing me off sons of a glitch!" Ironhide growled, glaring at the two.

"Hey! It ain't our fault," Sideswipe said though he was grinning.

"That you fell for our little prank with Hound's holograph producer." Sunstreaker finished for his twin. "It's what you get,"

"For kicking us in the aft last time." Sideswipe added from Sunstreaker's sentence.

Ironhide just growled and started to lumber towards them, which they quickly backed away with unease. But Optimus Prime held out an arm and blocked his path while giving the twins a look to stop messing around. Then he motioned to the last and smallest Autobot among them. "The Communications Officer, Blaster. He is the one who discovered Annabelle May Lennox's SOS and brought it to my attention. In all honesty, it is his doing that brought us here to help you." He said, sounding a little fond.

The smallest, seven foot Autobot just rubbed the back of his head almost sheepishly while all of the humans eyed him. He couldn't even find something to say but just wave at everyone a little shyly. It just had a few smile at him.

Optimus Prime then motioned to Bumblebee, who whirled cheerfully. "And, you all, of course, know Bumblebee. He is one of our Autobot Scouts, and the youngest Autobot among us. I greatly thank you for looking out for him. Because he is the youngest, we try and look out for him. Everyone has been worried about him since his disappearance." He remarked.

"Uh….the youngest? And by everyone you mean…?" Sam was asking curiously.

A few of the Autobots snorted and glanced at each other with amusement. But Optimus Prime and Elita One just nodded as they looked down at the humans. "We mean every one of the Autobots have arrived on Earth to help save your world from the Decepticons." The Autobot Leader stated.

"Uh…..just eight? Or, ten counting Bumblebee and Alice?" Epps asked, glancing cautiously at the former Decepticon Pretender who was keeping her distance from everyone due to the fact that they were still uneasy about her.

"Nope!" Jazz said very cheerfully. "We got about sixty Autobots back on our ship!"

Jaws dropped open with shock and alarm as soon as everyone heard that. They could not believe on how many Autobots had come. They knew that there were many more Decepticons but sixty Autobots?

Even Anna had look hopeful as she sat on a log, allowing Will to hover over her. She was still a little hesitant about talking to him but she had told him that she still needed a little more time to sort out her thoughts about them both. Will had agreed to let her have some space but he refused to be too far from her side. He had made it clear that now that he found her, he was not letting her out of his sight again. Anna didn't argue with that. But she was just glad that he wasn't asking a gazillion questions she knew that he was itching to ask her.

"Sixty? That many? But…but where are they? Why are they here? And you have a ship?" Anna couldn't help but ask. "An actual space ship?"

All of the Autobots hmphed with amusement as they heard the excitement from her and even the excitement from all of the humans as they murmured to one another about what they were learning.

Optimus Prime just nodded as he smiled down at her. "Yes. I suppose we do have a space ship. Though we wouldn't call it that, our selves. It's more like…just…..well, I suppose it is a space ship to you. It is called the Ark. And it's actually stationed right outside of Earth's Atmosphere, beside the planet you would call Jupiter. Most of the Autobots are still aboard the Ark and are awaiting for my signal for them to be allowed to come down. But there are a few that are on Earth even now, standing by. They are in various areas of your country, the United States. But they are awaiting for my call to them. I will contact them and they can meet up with us along the way to find Jetfire." He told them.

"Jetfire?" Will was the one to ask with a look on his face.

Optimus Prime nodded as he looked at him. "The Decepticon we are going to look for. He is a Seeker, much like Starscream. He even was once the Leader of the Seekers until he defected from the Decepticon ranks. He still claims to be a Decepticon but he has no love or respect for what Megatron has been doing." He paused for a moment. "In truth, Jetfire was once known as Skyfire, an Autobot. He was an Autobot before the Cybertronian war began with the Decepticons and quite a Legend among our world. He still is. But when the war began, he, as Skyfire, met his defeat from his own twin brother, Jetstorm. They were the first pair of Cybertronian twins to ever be created. Jetstorm, however, was once an Autobot, himself. But he was…." He paused again as if choosing his words carefully. "Manipulated by Megatron, I suppose you could say. Something that Megatron did to Silverbolt and he later became Jetstorm. Jetstorm attacked his own twin brother and Skyfire soon became Jetfire. But unfortunately for the Decepticons, it did not stick long with what they did to him. Jetfire was a Decepticon for a number of years before we managed to get to him and remind him of who he used to be."

"It was actually Optimus who made him remember." Elita One said rather fondly as she looked at her Sparkmate. "He did fight with Jetfire for a while but after knocking some sense into him, Jetfire remembered his true name. He stuck with the name of Jetfire, though. He said that he could never be Skyfire again. But he is a Decepticon, yet he fights for the Autobot side. He's a really good asset and friend to us."

Optimus Prime nodded in agreement.

Shortly after that explanation, it was time to get a move on. All of the humans had everything packed and the injured bandaged up and ready to carry on make shift stretchers when Optimus Prime actually made a suggestion that made every one of them freeze. He offered them to ride with them in their vehicular forms so that they could travel faster.

And hearing that suggestion, made everyone freeze. They couldn't find a single thing to say, even as the Autobots transformed and revealed their vehicle forms. Only then did jaws drop and eyes popped. Before them stood seven amazing looking cars. Bumblebee, of course was in his usual yellow and black Chevy Camaro form. So that wasn't any different. But everyone else were much different.

Optimus Prime was a red and blue flamed Peterbilt Semi truck, which had many staring at him with the greatest awe. Elita One was in the form of a pink and black 2009 Bugatti and was lovely as she could be in her bipedal form. Ratchet had taken the form of a H2 Search and Rescue hummer while Ironhide was a huge black GMC Topkick truck. The twins were both Chevys, yet Sideswipe was a 2010 Corvette Stingray while Sunstreaker was a 2010 Grand Sport Corvette. Jazz had taken the form of a Pontiac Solstice.

As for the last, Blaster, he had not transformed but remained in his bipedal form. Everyone had to look at him rather curiously while he looked almost embarrassed.

"So, what do you transform into?" Epps asked after making his earlier exclamation.

Blaster grimaced and slowly shook his head. "Actually…a murhghg." He muttered in such a low voice that no one could understood what he said.

"Huh?" Glenn asked.

Again Blaster murmured the word but no one could hear him say it.

"What?" Sam asked.

"Oh, for the love of Primus! Blaster transforms into a Light Strike dune buggy. It was the only thing that he could find." Jazz said, eyeing the smaller Autobot, who looked embarrassed. "Come on, Blast. It ain't that bad! You actually look wicked, mech!"

"Oooooh! A Dune Buggy? Nice! I haven't ridden in one of those for a long time!" Epps said cheerfully, rubbing his hands together. "Hey, Blaster! Mind if I ride with you then?"

Blaster actually started looking a little better. He looked as if Epps had just made his day by requesting that he went along with him. So he just nodded.

The only problem being was that none of the Autobots really wanted Alice to ride with them. It was due to the fact that she was not equipped with a vehicular scanner so she couldn't transform into a vehicle to go with them. Instead, she ended up having to ride with one of the Autobots. But it took a while to even convince one Ironhide to allow her to ride with him and Anna, whom he offered gruffly.

So, now on the road, all three were following behind Optimus Prime, who had Will riding with him, in silence.

Alice had gone into temporarily shut down to make Ironhide stop grumbling about how he had to have the Decepticon Pretender with him. She had grown tired of listening to him bitch and moan about her being with him so she agreed to shut herself off for a few hours to shut him up.

Either way, the traveling was going much faster while riding with the Autobots. It was only a day later and they were driving right past Chicago, not deciding to go through the city so they could avoid trouble with Shockwave. They figured they could deal with him later after they found the defected Decepticon and get a few more reinforcements before dealing with him or any of the Decepticons.

Anna was sitting quietly in the middle of Ironhide's seats, watching the slightly moving steering wheel with wide eyes. She didn't know exactly why it bothered her so much to see that no one was even driving this huge black truck. She had spent so many years riding around with Starscream that she should have been used to the empty seat. But it was making her just stare at the moving steering wheel, feeling uneasy.

"What?" Ironhide's gruff voice spoke up, obviously noticing her staring.

Anna jumped at the sound of his rough voice before she quickly tore her eyes away from the empty seat beside her and looked out the window on the other side of the rechargingAlice. "Sorry! It's nothing!" She said quickly, grimacing a little when her voice stammered nervously.

There was a short silence before the grunt made an impatient sound and there was a low click from the dashboard.

Seeing and feeling someone suddenly appear before her, Anna jumped as she jerked her head around and cringed back to find a man sitting right beside her in the driver's seat. She felt her heart nearly jolt right up through her throat as she looked at the man with alarm.

The man was a short but rather brawny man with deep tanned skin. His hair was ink black and he had a rather square chin. He wore black jeans and a black tank top, showing off thick muscular but hairy arms. His eyes, which were glancing at her, were a deep but brilliant blue and were watching Anna with almost dull amusement by how surprised she looked. "Is that better?" he gruffed.

Anna couldn't help but stare at him with alarm. She was trying to figure out what in the world just happened. How did this man get into the truck without opening the door or making the Autobot slam on his brakes? Who was he? "Uh…!" She stammered with shock. She quickly looked around the cab, looking for any openings he might have used. "How…..ho-how did you…..? Wh-who are you…..?" She tried to ask without cringing away any more.

The man looked blankly at her before he turned his brilliant blue eyes forward again, watching the road as he drove the truck. "It's Ironhide. And this is just a holographic molecular image that I use to take on human forms. All of us, Autobots, use it when we want to blend in with the inhabitance. It's just a device that that nutball, Hound and blow-himself-up, Wheeljack invented. It gives us human forms." He gruffed.

Staring at him with awe, Anna couldn't help but look him over. She couldn't even believe her eyes. She had never seen any of the Decepticons take on a human form. Other than the Pretenders. But this was totally different. She couldn't help but carefully reach over and poke the man that called himself Ironhide in the strong bicep, earning a rather dry look from him. She grimaced and quickly retreated her hand back to her lap and look down. "Sorry! I just…..I just never seen anything like it." She said, in a low voice.

There was a long silence between the two before Ironhide turned his human eyes back forward to the road.

"That was a brave thing you did back there." He grunted.

Anna looked at him in surprise and confusion. She didn't understand what he meant. "Huh? What are you talking about? Poking you?" She asked, almost innocently.

Ironhide snorted to himself, the corner of his mouth twitching and threatening to break into a smirk. But he shook his head, keeping his eyes forward. "That too. But I was talking about back at the camp. You were going to give yourself up to the Pretender to protect your creator and your comrades. And then you worked with that piece of scrap right next to you to fight him and kill him. You actually got up close and personal with him. That was a brave thing to do. Especially against a Pretender." He told her in a gruff way.

Smiling faintly, Anna shook her head as she looked forward. "Thanks." She said almost fondly before her face fell and she looked down at her lap. "I wouldn't say that I was brave though. I'm not really. I'm kind of…..I don't know."

"Take a compliment when you hear one." Ironhide growled. "I don't give them very often."

Wincing, Anna ducked her head into a nod as she kept her eyes adverted away from him. "Sorry. I mean…..thanks. I…..um, thanks." She murmured.

There was a shorter pause before Ironhide growled at himself and then looked over at her almost dryly. "For the love of Primus, Starscream really did a number on you, didn't he? You're too timid. What I saw facing that fragging Pretender was a feisty one. Not this." He gruffed.

Anna made a face before giving him an irritated look. "Okay, you know what? Yes, Starscream did a number on me. He bought me and from Slavers. He murdered my mom right in front of me. He pushed me around all my life. He always made me train so that I wouldn't be weak, even though I'm still kind of weak. He murdered my boyfriend and my best friend. And now, he's probably hunting for me, wanting to kill me for running away and joining the human rebels. So, of course I have a little lack of self confidence. And if you don't stop growling at me…." She was saying.

Now turning a dry look on her, Ironhide met her challenge. "You'll do what?" he growled at her.

Twisting her mouth, Anna found herself just glaring at him as she folded her arms, digging her nails into her biceps a little. "I'll kick you in the bumper! I've been pushed around by the Decepticons all my life! I'm certainly not going to be pushed around by a grumpy aft Autobot!" She growled right back at him.

Staring hard at her, Ironhide glowered for a moment before he snorted in amusement and he had to smirk and shake his head. He turned his eyes back onto the road, almost chuckling. "There is that feisty human that I saw facing off with the fragging Pretender. Stay that way, kid. I'll like you better." He said.

Blinking in surprise, Anna couldn't help but stare at him for a moment before she had to smile to herself. She felt a spark of pride within her for grounding this gruff Autobot a little. She could already tell that he had a fighting streak and he used it often. And if he said that he liked her better as a feisty human, then why not keep it up?

"Um, thanks for earlier."

Ironhide looked back at her, his eyebrow raising a little as he stared at her. "For what?" He gruffed again.

Anna shrugged as she looked away from him. "For…..um, saving Bumblebee. From Barricade." She murmured softly. "He's…..he's become really something to me. Ever since I met him, he's been nothing but nice to me. He's helped me more than he knows by being nice to me. I've been bullied by the Decepticons all my life that I have to be a little afraid of them. Of….alien robots."

Ironhide was silent for a moment before he shook his head again. "You don't need to thank me for saving the youngling, kid. Bee and I have been through a lot together. We all have. He's a real something to all of the Autobots." He glanced at her, frowning. "He's done a number to you too, didn't he? Become something to ya?"

"Just a really good friend." Anna stated, making a face at him. And then she caught on to what he was implying. She had to look at him with almost horror. "What, you think I have a crush on Bumblebee? Ew! He's a robot. And he's probably ten times older than me!"

Now laughing out right, Ironhide just shook his head as he looked at her. He definitely thought that was hilarious. "Don't worry, kid. I won't tell him." He chuckled.

"EW!" Anna squealed, shaking her head. "Jeez, mech! Bumblebee is ten times older than me and he's an alien robot! Not to mention, I see him more like a brother or something!"

Ironhide boomed with laughter, causing Alice to hum to life and give him a dark look for making her come out of recharge. He noticed and stopped right away, turning a dark look onto her. "What are you doing? Why are you coming out of recharge?" He growled at her.

"You're a loud aftpipe, that's why." Alice growled right back before looking at the smile on Anna's face. She raised an eyebrow before shaking her head. She didn't even bother to ask. Instead, she looked around, narrowing her eyes at the surrounding before her eyes flashed.

And she wasn't the only one to have sensed it.

Ironhide stiffened right under Anna and his human form jerked his head around, looking up into the sky. As it was, all of the Autobots had stiffened and started to slow down. All of the humans with them frowned, watching the vehicles carefully as they wondered what was going on.

And then it happened.

There was a deafening boom before something very bright came crashing down hard on the road before Optimus Prime. He immediately slammed on his brakes, as did all of the Autobots and screeched to a sudden stop. People exclaimed in alarm as they saw the burning pit before them, already grabbing for their weapons. Some of the doors to the Autobots were thrown open and some of the Soldiers jumped out. Will was the first to jump out of Optimus Prime, already shouldering his rifle and pointing it towards the sky.

Anna just drew her knees to her chest, looking around with wide eyes and fear. She could hear a distant rumbling sound of a jet engine, making her worry. She was expecting to see Starscream drop out of the sky any minute…

And then was a brilliant flash of light before something suddenly appeared right before them, kicking up a huge cloud of dirt and debris.

Something heavy landed hard in front of the Autobots, making them all tense up with the humans. Optimus Prime clicked loudly and made a quick transformation, holding up a hand to steady his soldiers and the humans. He stood up, looking at the sudden appearance of a Decepticon before them.

The Decepticon that had suddenly appeared was a huge black Seeker with glaring red eyes. It wasn't one that Anna had ever seen before. He looked rather aged, as it was. Spines of metal hung from around his head, falling low like a black beard. He was slightly hunched over and leaning against a very long rod of strong metal that looked almost like a cane. This Decepticon was rather old, Anna could see. But nonetheless, the glare he was giving all of them had her feeling uneasy.

"Well, well, well! If ain't the Autobots!" The huge ancient Seeker boomed before he moved swiftly forward, swinging his long metal cane towards Optimus Prime.

Almost immediately, Optimus Prime lashed out his arm and the blazing orange blade shot out and collided with the cane, causing sparks to explode from the impact of metal against metal. He braced himself, rocking only a little as the Decepticon Seeker pressed his cane against his blade.

But what surprised all of the humans, neither one moved to attack each other besides pressing the cane and the blade hard against one another.

"What the frag took you so long, Young Prime?" The Decepticon Seeker suddenly chuckled right into Optimus Prime's face.

With his own chuckle, Optimus Prime shook his head as he looked right at the Decepticon before there was a loud shnik and the blade disappeared right back into his arm. He stood only a little taller than the Decepticon, who banged his cane back down against the ground, making the earth vibrate from the impact.

"Forgive me, old friend. We got lost along the way." Optimus Prime said, almost with amusement.

The Seeker just shook his head as he backed away before letting his burning eyes flicker down to the humans still pointing their rifles at him and looking rather unsure. "Prime, you better check your humans. You know I don't like weapons pointed at me." He growled.

Optimus Prime looked down at Will and held a hand over him. "Easy, Will Lennox. It's all right. You can stand down." He then motioned to the Seeker with his other hand. "Allow me to introduce you to Jetfire." He told him.

Slowly, Will lowered his weapon and motioned to the other Soldiers to do the same. He was still a little uneasy to see an actual Decepticon before them. And he knew he wasn't the only one. "So….you're Jetfire. The Decepticon who defected." He stated.

Jetfire nodded as he looked down at him. "Aye. And you're the infamous Will who founded the DATAR." He then lift an arm up and touched his forehead, pressing a button. "Someone would like a word with you."

Surprisingly, the cockpit piece slid upward and a young man climbed out onto Jetfire's hand. The boy was no older than 15 years old and it generally surprised a lot of people. Autobots and humans alike. He was deeply tanned with dark brown, nearly black hair and bright blue eyes. He wore dirty cargo pants and a rather old dark gray muscle shirt, showing off his skinny, yet firm arms. He was a scrawny kid yet there was something strong about him.

But it seemed that Will and Epps knew who he was because they suddenly looked from worried to smiling. They had to shake their heads as they lowered their rifles completely and waved at the boy, who grinned back at them and waved back as Jetfire lowered him to the ground.

"Banes, you little shit! You went and befriended a Decepticon, didn't you?" Epps joked as soon as the boy was put down on the ground.

The boy just shrugged as he glanced up at Jetfire, who was reaching towards his head again as if going to help another person down. "Yep! He showed up a few months ago and saved our asses from some Decepticons! Totally whooped them too! He's been a real wonder to having around. The Decepticons won't come any closer to the base with him around. We would have told you about him but the communications was being watched by that damn Soundwave."

Slowly, humans began stepping out of the Autobots or rolling down the windows so they could listen in. Anna had leaned out the driver's side window when Ironhide deactivated his human form. "We? Hey, Will, Epps! Who is that?" She called.

Will and Epps just grinned and shook their heads. "This is Spike Banes! He and his mom runs the second rebel base! The one where we were headed to." Epps called.

"Banes?" Sam suddenly asked, very alert as he stepped out of Bumblebee. "His mom? Who's his...?"

"Samuel James Witwicky." Someone suddenly spoke up rather dryly.

Sam froze with growing wide eyes as he heard the voice from above them. He, like everyone, looked up quickly to see that Jetfire was slowly lowering another person from his cockpit. But the look on Sam's face was pure shock. He could not believe his eyes. "Mi-Mik-Mikaela?" He gasped shock as soon as he saw the rather beautiful dark haired and dark tanned woman as she stood on Jetfire's hand, her hands on her waist.

But the look on her face told everyone that this woman, Mikaela, was not too happy to see Sam.

In fact, she looked kind of pissed off.


	18. Chapter Seventeen

"Mikaela?" Sam gasped again as he watched the beautiful woman step off of Jetfire's hand and start towards him.

Everyone was quite surprised to see Sam's very reaction. They weren't too sure who this Mikaela was. They had not even heard of her before now. And even so, who was this boy, Spike Banes? Why was Will so even stating that he was actually one of the leaders of the secondary DATAR group? He was younger than Anna for Primus' sake! He must have only been three years younger than her! So how in the world could he be a leader? And who was his mother?

Either way, everyone was mostly watching the reaction between Sam and Mikaela, wondering what was going to happen next. They could definitely see that she looked highly pissed off about something. But what?

"Samuel James Witwicky!" Mikaela ground out, her eyes nearly blazing as she started to march towards the spoken person. She had her fists balled up tightly, looking like she was ready to punch someone.

Sam even saw how angry she looked and he was starting to cringe back and held up a hand as if to ward her off. "Mikaela, whatever it is that you're….!" He was saying.

But Mikaela shut him up pretty quickly as she lashed out and lightly slapped him across the face, surprising him and everyone that was watching. She glared up into his face, looking like she was about to do it again. But instead, she shook her head. "That," She said very loudly close to yelling at him. "Is for scaring the shit out of me and disappearing on me!"

"Mi-Mikaela, it wasn't….." Sam was saying with a pained look.

But again, Mikaela cut him off by grabbing him roughly by the shirt and yanking him closer to her until she slammed her lips against his. He froze, along with everyone watching. But slowly, he made an amused sound as he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her right back, and rather passionately while at it.

A whistle sounded in the air as the twins, Jazz and even Bumblebee catcalled their kiss. Quite a few people had to chuckle or smile as they watched the long lost couple reunite with their kiss. Even Anna had to smile as she watched with bright eyes as her friend was reunited with his long lost girlfriend. It was actually quite romantic, in an angry way.

Mikaela finally pulled away and glared up at Sam, though her lips were threatening to smile on her. "And that is for coming back to me. God damn it, Sam! Do you know how worried I was about you? Nearly Sixteen years! I've been worried about you for sixteen years! There was no word from you! No sign! It scared me to death! I thought you were dead!" She nearly shouted at him, getting angry again.

Sam smiled faintly as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm sorry, Mikaela. I really am. But it wasn't my fault. I was captured by the Decepticons and I became Megatron's slave. I was stuck." He told her.

Making a narrow eyed look at him, Mikaela placed a hand on her waist, looking as if she was merely observing him. She stood like that for a moment before she slowly shook her head and looked over at Will. "Will, what are you guys doing with a bunch of alien robots?" She asked, almost skeptically.

Will shook his head as he snorted and put his rifle back on his back while glancing up at Optimus Prime. "This is Optimus Prime and the Autobots, Mikaela. They're enemies of the Decepticons. My daughter," He paused, smiling faintly over at Anna, who had to glance away. "She sent an emergency SOS out into space and requested for some help against the Cons." He shrugged as he looked back at Mikaela. "And they answered. They're here to help." He looked up at Jetfire and nodded towards him. "So what's his story? You do realize that he's a Decepticon, don't you?"

"And you do realize that you've got a bloody Pretender in that grumpy aftpipe, Ironhide, don't yeh?" Jetfire countered, glaring towards Ironhide when he noticed Alice in the right side of the truck. He shot a look towards Optimus Prime. "Prime, what the slag is that thing doing here?"

Optimus Prime merely glanced over at Alice before he shook his head and looked back at the Seeker. "Her name is Alice. She was a Decepticon Pretender. She's defected from the Decepticons and she wishes to join us to protecting the humans. She even destroyed one of her own kind to protect the girl, Anna Lennox." He said, looking over at Anna, who meekly smiled and waved at the Seeker.

Jetfire narrowed his glaring eyes at her for a moment before he let them flick back up Optimus Prime. "Ain't that girl Starscream's?" He asked, raising a metal eyebrow.

Anna made a face at the very sound of Starscream's name. She sure didn't like being named as her former master's. But it was Will who shook his head, his face rather stony. "No. She is not Starscream's. He may have called her his slave, but she belongs only to herself." He said coolly. "And she is MY daughter."

Jetfire snorted as he looked down at the human before shaking his head. "Yeh, yeh. Whatever you say. You don't know Decepticons too well for one whose been fightin' em for so long. If Starscream thinks that girl of yours belongs to him, he's gonna come after her." He stated before shrugging. "All well. You'll be finding out what happens when you piss off Screamer soon enough. He might be a coward and all, but he's smart. If you don' want 'em finding her, you better hide her really good. He's a good tracker. Sooner or later, he'll come for her."

"And we'll be waiting." Ironhide growled, engine and all. "I'm not going to let that son of a glitch touch her!"

Jetfire snorted, now eyeing Ironhide with a rather curious look. He was not the only one. Even Mikaela and Spike was eyeing Anna and the big black truck with curiosity. They were definitely interested in this now. "Whoohee, Ironhide. Sounds like you just claimed Guardianship over the girl." The Seeker chuckled with an evil grin.

There was an almost uneasy pause as the big black truck remained quiet. Anna and all of the humans looked rather surprised and curious at the same time. They weren't too sure what the Seeker was saying.

"I did not! I'm just saying! Hey! Optimus won't let Ol' Screamer touch her either! And you know it!" Ironhide suddenly boomed through his radio system, making both Anna and Alice wince at the sound of his voice.

"What is Guardianship, anyway?" Epps asked, making a face at the noise that Ironhide was making.

Jetfire snorted again, still grinning as he eyed the Weapons Specialist. "Guardianship is what we, Cybertronians, call the swearing of protecting a sentient being. It means that who ever claims Guardianship over someone, they will protect that person from any danger or threat for the rest of their life." He then shrugged and leaned against his cane. "Hey, Ironhide. Don't be embarrassed or anything. I claimed Guardianship over Spike, here. And his femme creator." He said, nodding to Mikaela, who smiled up at him.

Everyone froze to hear that. Everyone but Will and Epps, actually. Especially Sam. His eyes snapped wide open as he looked at Mikaela and then to the boy, Spike. He looked as if he'd just been slapped right across the face.

"What?" He yelped. He looked quickly from Mikaela to Spike then back. "Wa-wait a minute! Mikaela! Yo-you're his….? You're a…?"

Mikaela then gave him a look as if she remembered something. "Oh, yeah. I forgot." And she slapped him across the face again, this time only a little harder. This time, Sam staggered a little, looking quite bewildered. "That one, Samuel James Witwicky, is for getting me knocked up before you went and got yourself captured by Megatron." She said, with a little acid.

Sam's eyes nearly popped out of his head and along with him was nearly everyone. Even though he was in Camaro form, Bumblebee honked his horn in alarm. "Wh-what…? What…..?" Sam was trying to say as he looked at Spike, who folded his arms, not looking surprised. He actually looked highly irritated as he looked dryly at Sam. "You mean…? You…..He…..I…..!"

"Yeah, Sam. Spike's name is Samuel Jacob Banes Jr. Named after you and my dad. But he likes to be called Spike. He's your and my son." Mikaela said almost dully, her arms folded across her chest. "You got me pregnant before you left to go find out where your crappy Camaro was at after getting that intel from that S7 idiot." She looked over at Bumblebee who whirled with indignation. She eyed him for a moment before shrugged. "Well, you upgraded. But you still kind of look like crap because of how beat up you were after dealing with S7."

There was a very long silence as people stared wide eyed at the shocked looking Sam. Anna couldn't believe what she just heard. She felt her mouth nearly touch her chest as she let it drop with shock.

And apparently, Sam couldn't believe it either.

Staring at Mikaela with huge, wide eyes and a fallen wide open mouth, Sam looked almost like a statue as he stood like that for a very long moment. No one could even find a word to say, except Epps, whom had to say, "Shi-it." He breathed.

And then Sam fell backwards with a loud thump. He had fainted.

"Dude." Jazz spoke up, almost bewildered. "Did he really just faint?"

Ratchet heaved a huge brake like sigh before he rolled over to where Sam was lying. A beam of red light shot of the middle of his grill and scanned him. "He's fine. Just in shock." He remarked almost dryly.

"And I don't think I blame him. Looks like we now have two daddy issues." Epps said, raising an eyebrow as he glanced from the now out cold Sam to Will, who merely glanced at Anna, who glanced back almost just as uneasily.

Mikaela just shook her head as she looked down at her boyfriend before she cleared her throat and looked around at everyone. "Well, why don't we just head back to the base? Who knows how long those damn Decepticons will wait before we get back?"

Everyone looked at her with unease and seriousness at the mentioning of Decepticons.

"You have Decepticons near the base?" Will asked seriously.

Mikaela looked back at him just as serious but she nodded. "Two of them. But they've just been sitting around, watching it. They don't dare coming near it because of Jetfire. They haven't even called for back up either. It's probably because he fucked up their communications system so bad after beating the shit out of them after they tried to attack us. And I don't think they dare to run away because Jetfire's constantly flying over head, watching for them. They're trapped in a bunch of rocks just outside the base. They won't leave it because they're afraid of Jetfire." She told them.

Slowly, Will nodded as he looked up at Optimus Prime, who met his gaze. "Well, let's go take care of them then." He said in a stony way.

As it turned out, the secondary DATAR base was hidden in a forest with a high cliff over looking it. There were a lot of trees shielding several tents and wooden cabins that Mikaela's DATAR members had built. There were not as many DATAR members with Mikaela as there had been with Will and Epps. There were only about twenty people living in the area. Some of them were women and children but there were quite a few men. Some of them were armed with guns of all sorts and most were staring towards the cliffs, as if watching for something.

But as soon as all of the Autobots drove up, everyone tensed up and started to raise the guns to start firing at them. Women and children cried out in fear and alarm as they started to run. But a quick call from Will and Epps had everyone slowly settling down. Especially when Jetfire landed near by and let both Mikaela and Spike out to go reassure everyone what was going on.

It was not easy to reassure everyone there of who the Autobots were and why they were there. But slowly, everyone did calm down.

Eventually, Sam woke up in Bumblebee's back seat and he was sitting on the driver's seat, holding his head while Anna, Alice, Maggie and Glenn hovered near by, watching him as he just stared blankly at the ground. He was still trying to figure out how this had happened. How did he even conceive a kid with Mikaela without even knowing that she was pregnant before he had gotten captured?

More or less, why hadn't she even told him that she had been pregnant?

"Sam, are you going to be okay?" Maggie asked, looking at him with concern.

Slowly, Sam shook his head. He still didn't look at her but stared blankly at the ground. "How…..why didn't she tell me? How did this happen?" He found himself murmur.

Anna shrugged as she looked across the way to see that Mikaela was still trying to talk to some people about the Autobots. She was sure having quite the time answering questions with Will and Epps standing around with her, explaining everything about what they were learning. "Maybe…" She said cautiously. "Maybe she didn't know about it until after you were taken, Sam. Or maybe she was going to tell you but you were taken before she could."

Sam sighed as he lift his head and looked to where the boy, Spike was standing with a man, who for some reason looked familiar. He was a tall, well built man with cut short blonde hair. He was wearing a worn old stained white tee-shirt and baggy jeans. He seemed to be joking around with Spike. "I can't…I can't even believe this. I have…..I have a son. What if….what if he doesn't like me? What if he hates me like…..?" He winced and looked up at Anna, who gave him a dry look. It didn't take a genius to know what he had been about to say.

Anna sighed wearily as she looked away from him. "Look, Sam. Everyone, let me put you straight with this. I DON'T hate Will. I'm just trying…..I'm just trying to sort out this whole thing. Okay, I got it. He's my long lost dad that I spent most of my life hating but wishing that he was my father." She said in a dry way.

"Oh, yeah? So you don't hate him? Prove it." Maggie said now smirking at her.

Now quite irritated, Anna looked at her friend dryly. "Prove it? Why should I…?" She was saying.

Maggie shook her head as she raised her eyebrows at her. "Anna, you haven't really said a word to him since you two even found out who each other was. Yeah, you've allowed him to stand near your presence but you still haven't said anything to him. Go talk to him for god's sake. Let him actually get to know you." She said just as dryly as Anna had.

Anna gave her a dry look but she looked over at Will, watching him for a second. She knew that Maggie had a point. She had been avoiding talking to him. It was due to the fact that she didn't feel like she deserved to have such a great dad like him. She knew that she should talk to him about their new found relationship. But she just couldn't find the courage to do it.

"Hey! Mikaela!"

Everyone turned around when they heard someone shouting, only to find a young girl running towards the DATAR Leaders. She was about Spike's age if not a year older than him. She had golden blonde hair tied back into a loose pony tail. She was wearing deep brown cargo pants and a light blue tank top that had been torn a little around the hem. She was a rather pretty young girl.

And she looked hurried about something.

Mikaela frowned as she turned away from Will and went to meet the girl. "What is it, Carly?" She asked, her tone becoming serious again like from before.

The girl, Carly pointed towards the cliffs, where some of the soldiers were starting to hurry towards. "It's the two Decepticons. One of them is trying to sneak off again. The silver sketchy one that talks like a crazy freak." She told her.

Groaning and rolling her eyes, Mikaela looked around at everyone, who all tensed. "Oh, that one. He's been trying to sneak off several times now when he thinks we're not looking." She then snorted as she glanced back at Sam, who stood up and was hurrying over with Anna, Maggie, Glenn and Alice. "Sam, you'll remember this one. He tried to rip your pants off." She said with a joking smile.

Sam's eyes snapped wide open as a memory hit him. He did not look too happy to hear about this Decepticon.

"Well, we better go kill him then." Sideswipe said, as he stood off with Sunstreaker.

Will nodded as he looked up at Optimus Prime. "Yeah, we better get these Decepticons taken care of. This rebel base has women and children. If they get away, the Decepticons will be coming for them." He told him.

"Agreed. But it will be best if only a few goes to take care of them." Optimus Prime said before looking over at Jazz and nodding. "Jazz, the majority will stay here. Go with the humans to take care of the Decepticons."

Jazz nodded as he lift up his arm and locked and loaded his cannon. "Magnetism?" He asked and received a nod from the Autobot Leader. He then looked at Mikaela. "All right, fleshies. Let's go catch a few Decepti-bugs."

"Can we come?" Anna asked, looking around at everyone.

Will looked at her before shaking his head. He didn't want her to be in any danger, even with an Autobot there go help them. "No, you stay here in the camp. Get some rest. This probably won't take long." He looked at Mikaela. "Uh, Mikaela, hate to do this to you….." he was saying.

Rolling her eyes, Mikaela folded her arms and nodded. "Fine. I'll stay here and look after everyone. But you're taking one of my men." She turned around and looked at the blonde haired man that was talking to Spike. "Hey! Trent! Go with Will and Epps and deal with the Decepticons." She told him.

The man rolled his eyes but nodded as he jogged over to one of the tents and got into it, pulling out a shotgun. He hurried back to where Will and Epps were waiting with some of their men before they took off with Jazz.

"TRENT?" Sam suddenly exclaimed, looking shocked at Mikaela. "As in Trent DeMarco? Your ex-boyfriend?"

Looking at him with annoyance, Mikaela nodded almost dryly. "Yeah. That Trent, Sam. So what?" She asked him.

"What the hell is Trent doing here? How long has he been…" Sam was asking, almost a little annoyed.

Mikaela forced a laugh as she looked at him, tilting her head to the side. "Trenthas been with me and Spike for the past several years. He was actually here when Spike was born. He delivered him into this world. Why is that bothering you so much?" She asked him with irritation.

Sam made a face. "He was your ex-boyfriend, Mikaela. Before you and I hooked up. He used to pick on me in High school. And you've been hanging out with…" He was saying.

"Trent was here, Sam. You weren't. I'm not with him again, if that's what you're thinking." Mikaela said a little angrily. "We are friends. He's Spike's best friend. He's been helping me raise him."

"Oh come on, Mikaela! The guy is an ape!" Sam argued.

"He's changed, Sam! We all have!" Mikaela said angrily as she glared at him.

"I highly doubt that….." Sam was saying.

"Trent watched his parents get killed by the Decepticons, Sam! Just like you and I watched my father get killed! And your father get killed by them!" Mikaela raised her voice. She glared directly at him, her fists balled up on her waist. "He was nearly falling apart when I found him! So don't you dare get jealous because ofTrent! That is not your place! And you weren't here when Spike was born! He was!" She said angrily before she turned and marched off towards Spike.

Sam chose not to follow her as he just watched her storm off. He looked pretty torn between following after her or just staying there. "Mikaela! It wasn't my fault! I was taken by the Decepticons!" He called after her.

Mikaela made an impatient sound as she turned around and gave him a look as she continued to walk backwards. "No, Sam. It wasn't your fault that you weren't there! But you really should have listened to me back then and ignored that mother fucker, Simmons when he told you where you could possibly find your alien robot car! You did know that it had been a trap, right? That Simmons set you up, Sam! Just like how he did when he gave the god damned glasses to the Decepticons to find Megatron and the All Spark!"

"What? He did that?" Sam suddenly exclaimed, even with everyone staring wide eyed between the two. "He's the one who did…!"

"Yes, Samuel! He did it! He's the one who betrayed the entire human race when he thought that he was bargaining with them for the safety of the Earth!" Mikaela said before she made a sharp sound and motioned to everyone to follow her. "If you have beef with him, then why don't you come with me to talk to him right now."

"You mean that idiot, Simmons is here too?" Maggie asked almost sourly.

Mikaela nodded, looking rather impatient. "Yeah. He is. Come here and come see what the Decepticons did to him after he betrayed the entire human race." She told them.

Glancing at one another, Anna and her friends and Alice hesitated but started to follow her. Spike and the girl, Carly were going right with them, even though they were both giving Sam a distant look. They were looking as if they didn't know if they should even try and talk to him or not. Anna was just curious to see the sorry son of a bitch that had put the entire Earth in this sorry state with the Decepticons. She definitely wanted to give him a piece of her mind for what he had done.

Mikaela lead everyone to a tent that was on the furthest side of the camp, which she immediately ducked through the entrance, pushing the flap to the side so that everyone could look in.

At the most part, everyone was already wearing a glare on their face but it faded immediately when they saw the man inside the tent.

The man was slumped over a small table with a bottle of Jack Daniels in his hand. He was a very rugged looking man in his sixties with dark gray and black hair all over his head and face. His skin was very much weathered as of he had had the hardest time in his life. He was wearing very grungy looking black pants and a very dirty shirt that seemed to once have been white. He looked as if he hadn't taken a bath or washed up in months. Just by the door way, everyone had to crinkle their nose because he smelled so bad.

But it wasn't just that he was passed out from getting drunk or being a disgusting looking individual.

He was stuck in an old rusty wheelchair due to the fact that his legs were missing.

Even Anna and Sam had to both freeze when they saw him. Maggie and Glenn looked just as shocked when they saw him. They just could not believe their eyes of what they were seeing. The man once called Simmons looked extremely horrible in so many ways.

"Oh, my god. What happened to him?" Maggie asked with shock.

Mikaela, using her back to hold the tent flap open, shook her head and folded her arms across her chest. "He's sulking again. Eighteen years ago, when Simmons gave the glasses to the Decepticons, he thought he was saving the world from them by just giving them Megatron and the All Spark. They told him that if he did it, they would take Megatron and the All Spark and leave the planet. He, unfortunately, believed them. After they lied to him and everything, he believed them again when Megatron convinced him to get Sam to leave the base and go looking for the Camaro." She shook her head. "Helping the Decepticons get Sam, his reward was having his legs cut off. He's been a huge mess. All he does is drink his life away, sulking in this damn tent. I think he's even tried to kill himself at least five times."

"Six." Spike spoke up, shaking his head as he peered into the tent. He met eyes with Sam for a moment before looking at his mother. "He tried to drown himself again last night, Mom. Uncle Trent had to yank him away from the river to get him to stop. He crawled all the way over there again."

Sighing heavily, Mikaela shook her head and looked around at everyone, noting the horror on their faces. "Simmons is basically a suicidal time bomb just waiting to go off. He's been blaming himself ever since the Decepticons tricked him." She ushered everyone away from the tent, letting the flap fall back into place. "Sometimes I wonder if I should just take a gun and shoot him myself just to end whatever nightmare he keeps putting himself through."

"You have got to be kidding me. That is Simmons? The guy who was extremely pushy, annoying, and so ever persistent about Bumblebee and all?" Sam asked, stunned.

Mikaela shrugged. "Yeah. He's given up, Sam. He basically killed our planet by giving them your grandfather's glasses and there are a lot of deaths and murders hanging over his head. What do you want me to do about him? Tell him to knock it off and get his act together? I already did that. Spike and Carly did that. Jetfire ignores him." She said rolling her eyes. "There's nothing we can do about Simmons besides just wait till he kills himself off. I don't like him either, Sam. But I can't stand watching him doing this to himself. But I can't just wait for him to get his act together. Then what? What is he going to do to fix what he's done?"

No one could say anything. They couldn't even think of a single thing to say about Simmons' new predicament.

And then things were suddenly interrupted by a high pitched scream.

Everyone jumped in alarm and jerked around to see what was happening only to see that the Soldiers were already returning with Jazz. And in Jazz's hands were two small struggling Decepticons who were ranting and raving and swearing viciously at the small Autobot and the humans.

"Got 'em!" Jazz said rather cheerfully, as he let them drop right out of his hands.

The two Decepticons were rather small and not even past Anna's knees, or even Spike's knees. One was deep blue colored with burning red eyes while the other was silver, spindly and with deep blue eyes. But by the vicious Cybertronian swearing that was coming out of his mouth, he was definitely a Decepticon.

The two fell hard onto the ground right at Jazz's feet in a loud clatter before they were both back on their feet, snarling and hissing as they looked around.

And then they saw Optimus Prime's large feet right in front of them.

Frozen, both slowly looked up at the huge Autobot Leader and squeaked in fear and alarm. They were definitely shocked by seeing him. The silver one even swore before he spun around and moved quickly.

"Stop him! He's a fast little son of a bitch!" Epps yelled already starting to give chase. But none of the Autobots moved even as the humans were starting to scurrying after him. They just stood there, watching him and not looking too worried about him running away.

But before the little Decepticon could get too far, there was a loud thud as something dropped right in front of him, causing him to squeal and scamper backwards. He looked up at the grinning fangs of a yellow and black spotted Autobot that even had some of the humans start and stop from chasing the Decepticon just to stare at him.

"Where do you think you're going, Frenzy?" The cheetah looking Autobot spoke up, his tail twitching back and forth like a real cheetah.

Behind him, three cars; a black and white and purple colored 2010 Dodge Charger Police car and three toned of black, blue and darker blue 2010 Mazda RX-8 and a bright red and black Hyundai Genesis Coupe, a metallic green Jeep Wrangler, a white and blue 2009 Subaru WRX STI and three 2011 Ducati motorcycles rolled up right from behind him. One was a violent purple, the second was icy blue and the third was hot metallic pink. But all of them wore the Autobot insignia on their front grills.

"Oh, holy femme creator of Primus." The blue Decepticon groaned in a high irritating voice. "We are so getting' whacked for sure."

"Let me guess." Epps said with a snort as he moved to stand over the blue Decepticon but glancing up at Optimus Prime and the other Autobots, who did look pleased to see the new arrivals. "More Autobots?"

"Good guess." Ratchet said with amusement.


	19. Chapter Eighteen

Once everyone was settled down and the two Decepticons were neutralized, that being that they were tied back to back with thick wires, even with them swearing up a storm or looking at the many Autobots with worry, everyone pretty much turned their attention to the new Autobots that had arrived. The cheetah like Autobot was prowling around the two Decepticons, smirking and twitching his long metal tail in amusement while both of them were glaring at him. It was mostly him that all of the humans were staring at in wonder.

"So….that large cat one," Epps remarked, narrowing one eye at the feral looking Autobot. "He some kind of cat robot like Ravage?"

Immediately, the cheetah Autobot stopped stalking around the two Decepticons and gave him a highly irritated look as his two pointed metal ears flattened a little to show how annoyed he was. He did not look happy by being referred like Ravage. "Don't you dare insult me, human. I am nothing like that son of a glitch." He growled.

Epps grimaced and held up his hands in apology.

But Optimus Prime sighed softly and held up a hand to the felinish Autobot. "Cheetor, he didn't mean it like that. The humans have not seen very many Maximals or Predacons other than Soundwave's subordinates." He told him before looking around at all of the humans and motioning to Cheetor. "Cheetor is a Maximal, which are animalistic Autobots. Yes, in a way he is like Ravage. But he is also completely different. He is also our second youngest Autobot. He is just a little older than Bumblebee but not by much." He explained.

"Yeah, and he's also a hot head. You can't say anything without offending him." Ironhide growled, earning a rather dark look from the spoken.

"All right. That's enough." The black, white and purple Autobot spoke up sternly.

Everyone looked at him a little taken aback. He had been completely quiet since they had arrived that they almost forgot that he had been there. But more or less, he sounded like he was a higher up. He was completely serious and they already could tell that he didn't take things too lightly.

"Sorry, Prowl." Cheetor grumbled, a little put out for getting into a little trouble.

"Prowl," Optimus Prime immediately stated, already motioning to the Autobot Police Cruiser, who straightened up like a hard core soldier in attention. "He is my First Lieutenant and Second in Command of the Autobots. Whenever I am not around or Elita One isn't around, he's usually in charge. He is also the Autobot Military Strategist. He comes up with strategies that could amaze even you." He then motioned to the next Autobot, which happened to be the blue and white Autobot, who smiled sheepishly due to the fact that Ratchet was glaring at him about something. It was probably because his large metal arm looked a little loose and the Autobot Medic was now fixing it. "Wheeljack is our Chief of Scientific Research. He and our Autobot Tracker and Holographic Imager Specialist, Hound," He motioned to the metallic green Autobot. "Are great inventors. They have created many devices that have helped us in the war against the Decepticons."

"Uh…..is he okay? His arm looked like it was about to fall off." Sam asked, making a face as he watched an annoyed looking Ratchet fix him.

A few of the Autobots snickered or shook their heads as they looked over at Wheeljack. "Oh, that's normal, Sam." Sideswipe snickered and getting nudged by his twin. "Wheeljack is always getting himself damaged."

Anna's eyes then lit up as she remembered something that Ironhide had even told her not even a day before. She remembered him mentioning Hound and Wheeljack. "Hey." She remarked, looking up at Ironhide. "You said something about him. You said that he helped create the Holographic Molecular Images that allows you to have human forms, right?"

Ironhide snorted and folded his arms as he nodded. "Yeah. I also called him Blow-Himself-Up Wheeljack. He's a walking explosive so don't be around him when he's working on something." He gruffed.

Everyone froze to hear that and it couldn't be helped that they all glanced at the spoken Autobot, who sighed heavily and shook his head with a pout on his face. "Hey, I'm not working on anything right now, Ironhide. And I swear, my inventions don't always overload and explode. I've had some good breaks." He remarked earning a snort from nearly every Autobot except a few. "HEY!"

Clearing his throat, Optimus Prime interrupted by motioning to the three nearly identical female Autobots who had been the three Ducati motorcycles. "These are only some of our Femme Autobots. Arcee, Chromia and Moonracer. They are some of the best soldiers we have in the Autobot ranks." He said looking at the three with amusement. Then he motioned to the three toned Autobot. "Mirage is our Espionage and Camo Specialist Autobot. His abilities have allowed him to gather intell on some of the Decepticons while we were at war." He explained.

"Camo? You mean camouflage, right?" Will asked, highly interested now.

Mirage, who seemed to be a little serious just like Prowl, nodded. "Yes. Here's an example of what I can do." He told them before he lift his arm and tapped a button. As if an invisible curtain fell right on him, the Autobot vanished.

"WHOA!" Several of the humans gasped, now looking around for him. They couldn't even see him at all. "Where did he go?" Trent DeMarco suddenly asked, quite tense.

And then there was click and the Autobot reappeared still standing right where he had been. He looked highly amused at all of the humans' reaction.

"How did you do that? You went completely invisible!" Epps asked, a wide grin spread across his face.

Mirage just shook his head as he motioned to all of his body armor. "I have a program that allows me to create optical illusions right through my very body armor. Using the program, I can basically make myself appear invisible to the eye. But I am not, really. It's all optical. Truth be told, through ultraviolet scanners, you could be able to see me." He explained.

"Yeah. Be careful of him." Sideswipe remarked, almost dryly as he looked at Mirage.

Sunstreaker nodded in agreement, eyeing Mirage in the same way, his arms folded across his chest. "Mirage likes to scare us with his invisibility program. We don't see why he won't do it to you either." He remarked.

Mirage just smirked at the twins as he eyed them mischievously. "It will teach you to stop pulling pranks on Red Alert, then. You know how paranoid he is." He remarked slyly.

"AW! Come on, Mirage! This isn't about that time that we stole Hound's Holographic invention thingy and scared the pits out of Red Alert, making him think that Megatron was coming after him, is it? We said we were sorry after you came up and kicked us in the afts after he glitched out!" Sideswipe whined.

But all the answer he got was a sly smile.

"Okay, you're serious creeping us out with that smile of yours! Knock it off, Mirage!" Sunstreaker growled. But it didn't stop him.

Sighing, Optimus Prime shook his head and motioned to the last Autobot, the almost cherry red one, while only a few were watching Mirage creep out the twins with his devilish look. "And this is Hot Rod, one of our Autobot Spy Changers. He specializes in espionage and has been doing quite a the job while doing it." He explained before looking around at everyone.

"And what are we going to do with these two?" Will asked, giving the two Decepticons a dark look. "It'll be better if we just get rid of them."

"Oh, man! Come on! All we've been sent to do was sit and watch you, humans! We didn't do anything wrong!" The blue Decepticon yelped.

Mikaela snorted loudly as she folded her arms and glared down at him. "You didn't anything wrong? Do I have to remind you that you tried to hurt my son when he caught you sneaking around, you little freak?" She snapped.

Sam's eyes flashed as soon as he heard that. He merely glanced over at Spike before turning back to the two Decepticons, glaring at them. "They did what?" He growled, now starting to move over as if to give the two a harsh kick. But he was stopped by Epps, who didn't look any happier.

The blue Decepticon just winced before shaking his head. "I didn't mean to! It wasn't like I was planning on doing anything to the pitspa….uh! Boy!" He said pitifully.

"Nonetheless," Jetfire growled, viciously. "You tried to hurt him. He's just lucky that it was Trent who was with him and took the blow that you were going to deliver to the boy." He looked over at Optimus Prime, shaking his head. "This'd be a good time to find out what they know or why they were even sneaking around this base anyway."

Optimus Prime just nodded before looking firmly down at the two. "You would do best to tell us. Otherwise, I will hand you over to Ironhide for interrogation." He warned them.

The Cybertronian coming out of the silver one, Frenzy seemed pretty nasty by the way he was hissing at the Autobot Leader. None of the humans other than Anna knew exactly what he said but they could tell by the wince she made that it had been bad.

"WHY YOU LITTLE….! YOU WATCH YOUR MOUTH, FRENZY!" Ironhide snarled, now stomping forward.

"Ironhide." Optimus Prime quickly said, holding up a hand to ward him off. He gave Frenzy another stern look. "You should know better than to insult one of us, Frenzy. Especially Ironhide."

Making a face, it was Maggie who looked at Anna, leaning closer to her. "Hey, Anna. What did that little freak say?" She asked her.

Anna just grimaced before slowly shaking her head. "It was a little hard to even pick up. I didn't get most of it. But I know he called Ironhide a big walking moron and said something about how he couldn't get him to talk no matter what." She told her quietly. That just made a few of the other humans grimace.

More Cybertronian words were coming out of Frenzy's mouth and it seemed to be insults again because some of the Autobots were now starting to glare at him. But the blue one looked like he was going to panic, even as Optimus Prime glanced at Ironhide, who grinned evilly and took a step forward.

"AHHH! We were sent here to keep an eye out for the DATAR leaders! And some chick that pissed off Megatron by sending out an SOS for you Auto-scums! I mean, Autobots!" He blurted out in panic.

A few eyes glanced at Anna, who had stiffened. They knew that the Decepticon was talking about her. Frenzy snarled in anger at the blue Decepticon, yelling at him next all the while slamming the back of his head against the others.

"Ow! Stop it, Frenzy! So I panicked! Sue me!" The blue Decepticon yelled back.

"And what were you suppose to do when the DATAR Leaders arrived, along with the girl?" Optimus Prime asked very seriously. He was all business right now but there was a tone of threat laced with his words. He was not going to take this too lightly.

The blue Decepticon yelped again when Frenzy slammed his head back against his but he did his best to lean forward. "Frenzy! Stop it! It don't matter! Your boss is on his way, anyway!" He yelled back. Almost all Autobots stiffened with horror to hear that. He grimaced before looking up at Optimus Prime. "He did it! I didn't do it! Frenzy's the one who called for Soundwave, not me! We were just to keep a look out! That's it! We're just mere drones!"

"Oh, slag." Sideswipe remarked with a wince. "Soundwave's coming now?"

Optimus Prime and a few of the other Autobots glanced at one another before they looked at the humans. "Commander Will Lennox, you would do best to gather all of the humans and keep together in a group. We, the Autobots, will take care of Soundwave when he arrives. I swear to you that none of you will be harmed. Not with our numbers." He told him.

Will slowly shook his head, his face set into stone. "How long is it going to be before he gets here, Optimus Prime?" He asked, stonily.

"Ain't gonna matter! You're better off just running for the hills! 'Cause when Soundwave gets here, you're all fragged!" the blue Decepticon yelped even as Frenzy was repeatedly slamming his head back against his. "OW! Knock it off, Frenzy!"

"What the frag is your name anyway, little cretin? We didn't catch that. And why the frag are you even telling us this?" The icy blue Arcee sister, Chromia growled, pointing her arm gun at him.

"Hey! I'm just a drone! I ain't in no hurry of getting whacked by a bunch of Autobots!" he said before cringing when Chromia growled at him. "AHHH! It's Wheelie, you glitch! My name is Wheelie! And I'm telling you this is because I like the kid, Spike, okay? He's interesting!"

Both Chromia and Ironhide growled, making a move as if to stomp on him but it was Optimus Prime who held up an arm to block them off. He looked over at Prowl, who straightened. "Prowl, you will be charge of dealing with these two. As for the rest of the Autobots, we're going to set up a perimeter and keep watch for Soundwave or any Decepticon who may be coming." He looked back at Will, bending slightly down to level with him. "Commander Lennox, it may serve us both to evacuate the area. We may need to remove all of your fellow humans to somewhere safer. Soundwave will probably come alone. He does not work well with many of the other Decepticons. But he doesn't need to. Other than Frenzy, he does have his own team that fights alongside him. Ravage, being one of them. They will most likely be with him." He told him.

Will shook his head, looking around. "Look around, Optimus Prime. Where are we going to go? This is the only place that the Decepticons haven't even touched. If this place isn't safe, then what is. Your ship? You just said that it was in Jupiter's orbit. How long is it going to take for you to get it here on earth?" he asked.

Slowly shaking his head, Optimus Prime did see his point. "It wouldn't be wise landing the Ark on Earth, true. It is fairly large and could easily be the same size as your U.S state,Texas. It would catch the Decepticon's attention just as easily as it would anywhere else." He said firmly. "If you can find it in yourself to trust us, I swear to you on my very Spark that what happened a few days ago will not happen again. We will protect you when Soundwave arrives. The best you can do is rest and rejuvenate yourself. The battle for Earth between humans and Autobots against the Decepticons is about to begin."

Heaving a deep sigh, Will nodded. "Okay. We're going to trust you, Optimus. But you better be right about this." He said as he turned away from him and looked around at everyone else. "Everyone, get some rest. We're going to get back to training everyone while the Autobots guard our camp. If we're lucky, we'll only have a few days before the battle comes. So rest up while you can. We restart training in the morning."

Slowly, everyone nodded and wandered off to do their own thing.

Anna, on the other hand, was biting her lip as she watched Will talking to Epps, Sam and Mikaela about what they were going to need to do. She was starting to wonder if it was time that she put past her anger and hatred for him and actually get to know him. She knew that she couldn't avoid him forever. And with Maggie nudging her side constantly right now, she was starting to get annoyed.

"Go. Talk to him." Maggie hissed into her ear, sounding very amused.

Making a face at her friend, Anna figured that it was about time she did talk to Will anyway. So with a sigh, she slowly began making her way towards him. She felt extremely nervous about talking to him. Even after she had yelled at him the other night. But nonetheless, it was time to get over it and make up with him. There were actually some questions that she wanted to ask him even as he had a gazillion questions to ask her.

"Will." Anna spoke quietly, catching his attention.

Will had been discussing things with Mikaela about putting all of the tents together so that all of the humans could be nearer to each other and not so divided like they were. He had figured that it was best to have all of them being in the same area. And that included Simmons, though Mikaela stated that would be a hard one to do.

But before he could reply to that, he heard Anna right behind him. He looked around at her with surprise. "Annabelle." He breathed, almost a little relieved that she was even talking to him now. "Hey, what is it?"

Anna, keeping her eyes adverted from him, shook her head as she twiddled her fingers a little. She didn't even have a clue of what to even say to him. "Wi-Will, can I talk to you?" She asked, almost weakly.

Looking quite surprised but pleased at the same time, Will glanced at the others, looking rather hesitant. He wanted so much to talk with Anna but there was a lot to do before the Decepticon Soundwave showed up. "Uh…well, we're kind…" He was saying.

"Go, Will!" Epps urged sharply, giving his friend a faint smile. "You two need to talk. I'll take care of everything here."

"No kidding." Sam said, smiling, looking very excited that Anna was finally talking to Will. "We can handle it here."

Giving them both a thankful smile, Will nodded and turned back to Anna, offering his hand to her. "Come on. Let's take a walk towards the river. It's not far from here." He told her.

Nodding, Anna hesitated giving her hand to Will. But she figured that it was a start. So she slipped her hand into his, making him smile and take the lead towards the river that wasn't even out of the camp's sight.

"So, what's up?" Will asked as he walked beside her.

Biting her lip, Anna hesitated in saying. She didn't have a clue where to start. She didn't even know what she was going to say to him. But with a sigh, she looked away from him and folded her arms across her chest. "I don't hate you." She told him quietly, earning a surprised look from him. She sighed again, looking up at him. "I don't hate you. I was….just really angry and shocked. I want to apologize to you for what I said."

Shaking his head with a faint smile, Will just held up a hand. "You don't need to apologize for what was true, Annabelle. You were right. I assumed that you were dead and I should have looked for you and your mother. You had every right to be angry with me." He told her.

"Yeah? Well," Anna said, twisting her mouth a little into a smile. "You were going through hell too. You thought we were dead. It must have been killing you just as it was killing me." She shrugged, looking forward. "I'm sorry for what I said. I shouldn't have said it. It was wrong and selfish of me to just think about my pain when you were hurting too." She turned to face him, stopping from walking so he joined her. "For many years, I felt hate for whoever was my father. I wished for so long that you were my father. And now that you are…" She bite her lip trying to choose her words carefully before smiling. "I feel…..I feel like I don't even deserve to have you as a dad. I mean, look at you! You're Earth's biggest hero. Everyone looks up to you! You've been pissing off the Decepticons! You've been fighting for the freedom of earth! And here I am, just some girl who was a slave to that bastard, Starscream. I can't live up to you. I want to….." She was saying.

But with a smile, Will grabbed her arm and pulled her into a tight hug, surprising her. He embraced her, feeling so happy that they were even talking. He just couldn't help it. Resting his chin on her head, he just held her close. "Anna, you are my baby girl. I don't care about reputation or anything else like that. I don't care what others might think of you. You are my daughter and that's all that matters to me." He told her gently before pulling slightly away from her and looking at her. "We've lost too many years because of these Decepticons but I will be damned if they ever touch you again. I will die before they ever hurt you again. I swear to you that I will do everything I can to make it up to you."

Smiling with tears in her eyes, Anna tightened her arms around him, burying her face into his chest. "You don't need to do anything but just be here, Daddy." She whispered to him.

Tears welling up in his eyes, Will felt so much happiness just swelling up inside of him. He closed his eyes, pressing his cheek against the top of Anna's head, holding her close to him. "I never thought I would ever be called that, baby girl." He pulled away from her again, smiling. "Come on. We have loads to talk about." He told her.

Smiling, Anna agreed and began walking with him as they began to talk about each other and learning all that they could about each other.

All the while, standing off in the trees, watching them, Ironhide smiled to himself, shaking his head. He was definitely amused by the situation change between the two. He silently promised the two that he was going to do everything he could to make sure that they stayed together and were never torn apart like they had been for nearly all their lives. The thought also made him groan and look up at the slowly dimming sky. "Oh, for the love of Primus. I really did just swear Guardianship, didn't I?" He groaned before sighing and chuckling.

"So, uh, what's Spike like?" Sam asked as he helped Mikaela going through some supplies in the supply tent. They were doing an inventory of what they had, hoping that it would be enough for everyone.

Mikaela glanced at him before having to blow a long strand of black hair out of her face before she went back to counting some of the cans of veggies. "Spike? Oh, well, if you really want to know, you should just ask him, yourself." She said, blankly.

Sam made a face as he helped her sorting through the cans before shaking his head. "Yeah, but doesn't he hate me? For not being there?" He asked, almost weakly.

Now, looking at him in surprise, Mikaela shook her head. "What in the hell, Sam, made you think that Spike hates you?" She asked him, completely bewildered. The only answer she got was a grimace and a shrug from him. Rolling her eyes, she stood up and placed her hands onto her waist. "Sam, Spike does not hate you. You think that I would let him grow up, hating you? Yeah, I'm still kind of pissed that you weren't there when he was born but I would never, ever make him hate you." She shook her head again with a sigh. "Spike actually looks up to you. I've told him all about you while he was growing up. Everything that I know. He actually adores you. He's been talking about how much he wants to meet you and hang out with you." She told him almost wearily.

Sam made a face again. "Really? But what about Trent? So if you're not…" He was saying.

"Trent and I already had that talk, Sam." Mikaela told him, tilting her head to the side. "We will never be together again like we had been before you and I got together. And he actually looks up to you after all that I've told him about how we got mixed up in all of this. He's a changed person, Sam. He's not a bully any more. Yeah, he's been there for Spike all his life but really. All he is to him is an Uncle or something. Didn't you hear him call Trent Uncle?" She asked him.

Sam weakly smiled and shrugged. "Yeah, but Trent and I never got along in school. And with me being with you, didn't it piss him off at least a little?" He asked.

Mikaela smiled dryly but shook her head. "Yeah, just a little. He trie to hit on me when we met up again. But I made it clear that I just didn't see him that way. He tried to court me a few times but it never worked out. My heart still belongs to you, Sam. Even if I am a little pissed at you." She told him before she stepped closer to him, looking up into his eyes. "By the way, Spike is just like you. He's kind of a dork, but he's extremely charming and smart." She shrugged lightly. "I've been teaching him how to be a mechanic, though. Hope you don't mind with that." She said with amusement.

Grinning, Sam wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer. "Nope. Don't mind." He then made a face. "But if he's like me, does that mean he has trouble with girls?" He asked, grimacing.

Giving him a look, Mikaela smiled and shook his head. "No. He doesn't have trouble with girls at all. You met Carly, didn't you? They're really good friends. And they kind of have a thing for each other. And you didn't have any trouble with me, Samuel James Witwicky. It was your dorkishness that caught my attention. You were so cute when you stumbled over your words and everything." She told him before resting her chin against his chest, looking amost vixenish. "And you know what I really missed about you?"

"What?" Sam asked almost slyly right back at her.

"Your touch." Mikaela said before kissing him. "No man has ever made me feel the same way you ever made me feel. I've missed you so much, Sam."

Smiling almost devilishly at her, Sam grabbed her hand and looked around. "How important is doing inventory right now?" He asked her.

"Not very important right now." Mikaela said hurriedly as she pulled him right out of the tent and moved towards the edge of camp. It was clear what they both had on their mind.

"Hey, where are those two going?" Sideswipe said as he stood with Sunstreaker and Ratchet, noticing the two couple wandering off away from everyone else.

Ratchet sniffed once as he glanced over at them before making a face. He scoffed before going back to checking some of the injured humans. "You're better off not knowing, Sideswipe. Unless you're interested in human mating. But I'll have you know, humans don't like others watching them mate. So don't even think about going after them." He told him.

"EW! Not even close to thinking about it!" Sideswipe said shuddering before going back to talking to Sunstreaker, who also had shuddered at the very thought.


	20. Chapter Nineteen

Snoring. A definition for it was the vibration of respiratory structures and the resulting sound, due to the obstructed air movement during breathing while sleeping. Some cases the sound may be soft, but other cases, it can be very loud and unpleasant.

It was snoring that he was doing. And it was snoring that caused someone to be so annoyed by the sound that he carefully picked him up from the tent, carried him over to the river and drop him into the cold water.

One thing that it doesn't in definitions is don't snore while in water.

For when he was dropped into the river, he had snored and inhaled a big gulp of water, causing him to jolt awake, clawing and thrashing to get back up to the surface. The water wasn't even that deep but it still had the effect that was expected. Gasping and choking on water, he heard a splash as someone was hurrying to his rescue. It was only a moment later before a pair of hands grabbed him from under his arm pits and started hauling him out of the river. He heard someone yelling at another someone for throwing him into the river. That angry someone sure had a strange sounding voice though. It sounded almost metallic.

"I didn't throw him in, Ratch! I dropped him into the water! Besides, the river is shallow! He would've been fine!" The other someone complained as he was being yelled at. "And besides again! That sound he was making was horrible and was getting really annoying! And he smelled bad! He needed a bath anyway!"

"It doesn't matter, you miserable, trouble-making idiot! He still could have drowned! If you had not noticed, he doesn't exactly have any legs! He wouldn't have been able to stand up in the water! You could have killed him!" A very grumpy metallic voice boomed.

The yells were just making the heavy pounding in his head grow worst and it made him wince, even while he was still choking and coughing. "H-hey...! COUGH! En-enough with the yelling, all right?" He gasped between choking on water.

"Simmons! Are you okay?" He heard the young woman, Mikaela Banes ask as she helped whoever it was that was hauling him out of the river.

Blinking water out of his already blood shot eyes, Simmons turned a bleary, drunken gaze onto her as he continued to sputter for air. "N-no! I'm….COUGH…..COUGH! No-not…..COUGH…..okay? Who the hell…..COUGH…..jus-just thr-threw me….me into the fucking river?" He exclaimed before glaring around to find who was responsible.

However, seeing three pairs of very large, metal feet, he froze with alarm.

Slowly, he followed the long thick legs until he found the guilty party still being yelled at by a lime green one. The one being yelled at was a silver alien robot that the lime green one called Sideswipe while the sunny colored one was still snickering to himself. It could not be helped that Simmons was horrified by what he was seeing.

"AAAAAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!"

The scream echoed throughout the entire camp, making several heads whip around to see what was going on. It even reached the training area where some of the humans were training under the watchful eyes of Ironhide, Chromia, Mirage and even Bumblebee. The training, however, stopped abruptly to look to where the screams were coming from.

But sitting next to Anna and Carly, Spike rolled his eyes and looked at the DATAR soldiers while they slowly went back to their training. "Simmons finally woke up." He remarked before smirking to himself as he glanced from Anna to Carly. "And he discovered the Autobots."

Snickering right with him, Anna shook her head and looked back at everyone as they trained. She had been training with them but right now, she was taking a break. She was watching as her father gave Trent DeMarco some hand to hand combat tips. She couldn't help but smile as she watched them. She was much happier than she had been in a long time. It had been only two days since she and Will talked and made up. Things were going very good between each other. Both father and daughter were learning a lot about each other about their past life during this dreaded war with the Decepticons. Anna had told Will about her life with Starscream. She told him about the good, the bad and the worst. She even told him about how he killed her mother and that was something she had never wanted to relive. It only pissed him off more, swearing that he would kill the Decepticon that murdered his wife and put his daughter through hell. He had cried some and then started swearing again. Anna couldn't blame him. She felt just as angry as he did.

But nonetheless, the better part was where she was actually hanging out with him and being taught by him to fight and shoot. She was getting better under his guidance. The best part was that she was spending time with him, making up the lost time they had lost over the years. And she knew that she wasn't the only one that was spending time with her father.

Glancing side wards at Spike, Anna reached over and nudged his arm with her elbow, getting his attention. "Hey, Spike. How are things going with Sa…um….your dad?" She asked him.

Grinning, Spike shrugged as he rest his elbows on his knees. "They're going great! He finally got the guts to come talk to me and we got talking about each other! He's told me all about Grandma Judy and Grandpa Ron and his life before he met mom and life after all of this started." He shrugged again smiling faintly. "I mean, mom's told me everything about dad, of course. But he's really so much cooler than she made him sound! And I've been hanging out with Bumblebee too! He is SO cool!" He then grinned slyly and nudged Anna's arm right back. "He kind of fancies you, you know? Bee, I mean."

Face falling, Anna gave him a very blank look. She really didn't know what to say about that. "Spike, for god's sake. He's a robot. I'm a human. And we are friends. That's all there is and that's all there will be." She told him dryly.

Laughing, Spike and Carly both shook their heads as they watched her. "Yeah? Doesn't stop feelings though, does it?" The blonde girl remarked, laughing when Anna's face flush. "And you like him too, don't you? I've seen you hanging out with him."

"GOD! What is it with everyone! I do not have a crush on Bumblebee, for crying out loud!" Anna hissed at them as her face turned a little red.

That just sent Spike and Carly into a fit of laughter, while Anna rolled her eyes and looked away. They just couldn't help it. They found that teasing her was easier than anything else. She was fun to tease and it didn't help that she did have quite the temper. Even she had impressed Chromia, whom everyone found out that was Ironhide's Sparkmate and was quite a temperamental Autobot just like her mate.

All of the Autobots were amusing to the humans now. It hadn't even taken long before everyone started trusting them. The Autobots were very gentle beings compared to the Decepticons. They were very patient, as patient as they could be. Excluding Ratchet, Chromia and Ironhide.

The twins were constantly getting into trouble and making everyone laugh as they tried to prank some of their fellow Autobots. And it was shown that Ratchet and Ironhide didn't have any tolerance to their mischief behavior. Not after they had tried to pull a prank on some of the humans and ended up scaring them instead only to get their heads slapped hard by the two older Autobots. Nonetheless, everyone was finding them amusing and quite likable.

Of course, Anna had also noticed that Ironhide had been constantly watching her or her father. She could only wonder why he was watching them so much. Everywhere they went, his glowing blue eyes followed, even if he was standing on the other side of the camp. She couldn't' help but wonder what so interesting about them that made him want to watch them.

Ironhide, especially, watched them closer whenever Alice wandered close to Anna. He did not hide his displeasure of her being any where near the young human. He was not the only one. Most of the Autobots didn't seem to trust the former Decepticon Pretender at all. Not even Jetfire trusted her. Everywhere she went, a pair of glowing eyes was watching her with great suspicion. They looked as if they were just waiting for her to do something bad. Anna had mixed feelings about Alice. She didn't trust her but she wanted to. She treated the Pretender with respect now that they were in better conditions with each kept quiet while around the humans. She even kept her distance from everyone but Anna. She acted more like a silent body guard constantly tailing her, watching and guarding her. She was standing in the shadows of the trees as it was, being watchful.

A thought struck Anna and she wasn't sure where it was coming from though.

Looking at Spike with a frown, Anna nudged him again. "Hey. I saw you going near the two Decepticons again. Were you talking to that Wheelie guy again?" She asked him.

Spike made a grimace as he glanced at her before he looked forward again and shrugged. "Yeah. I guess I was. He doesn't seem all that bad. He's actually kind of pathetic for a Decepticon. He's always jabbering about something if not about anything. He's not that bad. It's that Frenzy guy that I'm worried about. He's threatened me a couple of times and Wheelie told him to shut it. I'm starting to wonder if Wheelie is even made to be a Decepticon." He told her. "He just doesn't seem to be cut out to be a Decepticon. He's kind of a big wimp."

Anna bit her lip thinking about it. She hadn't spent too much time around the Decepticons. So she didn't know anything about them. But she even she could tell that Wheelie was a poor excuse of a Decepticon.

"Hey. Look, there's Mikaela." Carly spoke up.

All three teens looked up and saw Mikaela hurrying over towards Will and Epps. Sam was right behind her and both of them looked rather anxious about something. There was something going on and it made the teens glance at one another before they hurried over to listen in.

"Will, Epps." Mikaela said as soon as they approached the two Leaders, making them stop and look at her. She looked between angry and anxious. "We have a problem."

Frowning, Will turned away fromTrentto face her, a serious look on his face. "What?" He asked almost wearily. He was starting to get tired of all of the problems that they were starting to face now. It was starting to get rather old.

Mikaela just shook her head as she placed her hands onto her waist before rolling her eyes. "As you might have just heard, Simmons woke up and panicked when he saw the Autobots. He went and hurt himself trying to get away from them, cutting his hands up. He's fine after Ratchet dealt with him. But the problem is, I went into the supply closet to get some pain killers for his stupid hangover he put himself through and we're about out. All of our supplies are down. We have only two weeks of supplies and food left." She told him.

Will looked away from her thoughtfully while Epps sighed heavily and shook his head. "That means we got a raid to go one. Looks like we're hitting one of the nearest cities." He remarked.

Anna's eyes lit up to hear that. She was definitely interested in that idea. Maggie had told her about the raids that the DATAR went on. They went to the near by cities and raided Decepticon facilities, stealing food and whatever else they needed. Sometimes they even destroyed the Energon factories. And now that they needed to go on another raid, Anna was interested. "Hey. She said with a smile, getting everyone to look at her. "Can I go with? I want to help."

Everyone looked at her with surprise for a moment before they frowned. None of them looked too reassured about her wanting to go. Will, especially. He made a face before shaking his head as he turned to face his daughter. "Anna, the raids are too dangerous. There is no telling what we will run into while going on one. It being Decepticons or human gangs that are loyal to the Decepticons or even Reavers. It'll be best if you just stay here." He told her.

Anna grimaced at the sound of the Reavers. To imagine running into Reavers made her heart skip a beat with fear. She did not want to repeat the last time she ever ran into some. But then again, she wanted to face her fears. And to hear of human loyalists, she really had to frown. She had heard of human gangs who worshipped the Decepticons. They thrived on power and adored the power that the Decepticons had. She had never met any personally but had seen them from afar. She wondered how in the hell they could like the Decepticons so much after what they were doing to their world.

But still, Anna wanted to go on the raid. She wanted to test herself, to prove that she was a DATAR member. "Oh, come on, Daddy. I can handle it. I'm getting much stronger and I can shoot a gun now." She told Will.

"Oooooh! She's playing the Daddy card. She's good." Epps laughed right along with everyone else.

Will just rolled his eyes at his best friend before he chose to ignore him. He just looked at Anna, shaking his head. "No, Annabelle. It's just too dangerous. I would rather you not be putting yourself in so much danger. Who knows what could go wrong?" He told her firmly.

Making a face, Anna shook her head. "I will be fine, Dad. You will be there with me. And so will everyone. Come on. Let me go one raid, to prove myself. One raid. If anything goes wrong, I will never bother you again about it." She told him.

"That's what I'm afraid of." Will said dryly.

"Oh, come on, Will. Let her come." Maggie piped up in Anna's defense. "She is getting better now that you're teach her. She'll be great."

Sam nodded with a smile as he rest both arms on Mikaela and Spike's shoulders, who were both smiling. "Yeah. Let her come, Will. Spike is going and he's younger than her." Then he frowned and gave his teenage son a wry look. "Even though I'm not too happy about it either. I don't want him to be in danger. But according to Mikaela, he's really good in getting in and getting out of places without being caught." He said, earning a grin from Spike.

"Plus, we will assist you."

Everyone looked up to see that almost all of the Autobots were approaching them from the trees. It had been Optimus Prime who spoke, of course. Most of the Autobots just nodded in agreement as they glanced at one another.

"But what about the camp?" Will asked. "And Soundwave? How long is it going to be when he shows up?"

Optimus Prime just shook his head as he looked down at him. "We are not sure where Soundwave is or when he will arrive. He actually should have been a few days ago but he has not even come close. We, of course, will be leaving half of the Autobots here to guard the camp. I, myself, will be coming with you, along with Ironhide, Bumblebee, Mirage, Prowl and the twins. We may as well take Alice along." He paused to look at the Pretender as she approached, though cautiously. She was not receiving very reassuring looks from some of the humans. "Alice will probably know where the Decepticon facilities are, since it the closest city is Shockwave's. Everyone else will remain here to protect the rest of the humans." He told everyone.

All of the Autobots nodded in agreement while some of the humans just nodded, yet looked a little hesitant.

"I'll probably stay here too." Mikaela spoke up, looking from Sam to Spike. "Someone has got to stay and control that idiot, Simmons. With him awake and aware of the Autobots, he'll keep on flipping out. I'll need to keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."

Again, everyone nodded in agreement.

With a shrug and a sigh, Will nodded as he looked at Anna. "All right. Annabelle, you can come with us since Spike is going. But you're to stay close to me or Ironhide." He glanced up at the big black Autobot to make sure that he didn't mind. The Autobot Weapons Specialist just nodded to let him know that he didn't. "I don't want you to do anything rash, all right? No being a big hero, okay, hun?" He asked Anna.

Smiling, Anna just nodded as she folded her arms behind her back. She was just glad that she was actually going on the raid. She wanted to help out as much as she could. That, and she wanted to test herself to see how much she could do while on the real battle field. "Okay, Daddy. I promise. You or Ironhide, I'll stay close to." She told him.

Will just smiled right back at her with a nod of approval before looking around. "We're going to try and keep this as low key as we can. Some of the DATAR can stay here too to help guard the camp. It will just be me, Epps, Sam, Maggie, Anna, Spike,Trentand a few others. We'll move into the city after dusk, raid the facility in the dark. It'll be much easier if the Decepticons or their humans don't see us coming." He told the plans.

Everyone just nodded as they took it in.

"Very well." Optimus Prime said before looking around at the other Autobots. "We will roll out with them. The humans can ride with us. We will even help transport the supplies they need, as well as guard them. Elita One," He looked at his Sparkmate, who smiled at him as she stepped closer. "I will leave you in charge. You know what to do. If there is any sign of Soundwave, contact me immediately." He told her.

Elita One just nodded as she reached over and placed her hand onto his shoulder. "I will, love. Don't worry about us. We will be fine here. You just take care of these humans." She said to him.

"All right. Now that's taken care of, everyone," Wills aid looking around at all of the humans. "Two hours before dusk, we'll start heading out. After the sun goes down, we'll raid the facility." He looked over at Alice, still a little hesitant about trusting her. He was still unsure if she was truly on their side, even after what she said to Optimus Prime. But the Autobot Leader did have a point. She was the only one that might know the facilities. "Can we trust you to show us where the facility is and help us get what we need?" He asked of her.

Alice folded her arms and stuck out her hip, but did look a little sour about the doubt of her. She didn't blame them but she was starting to get a little annoyed about it. "Of course, Will." She said with a little irritation.

Will just nodded, his brow furrowing a little with his own irritation. "All right. Until then, everyone get some rest. We have a big night ahead of us. And we will need all of the energy we can get." He told everyone and everyone went to the tents to get some sleep for the big raid that night.

The city of Chicago, now the city of Shockwave, was just as dark and twisted as Starscream's had been. There were not very many lights on within the entire city. And there were not many people out on the dark streets as soon as night fell. There seemed to have been a night curfew going on throughout the city. If there were any people, they were hiding in the shadows of the ally ways, cowering in fear as the DATAR and the Autobots, in their vehicle forms, slowly crept into the city. They were being very cautious as they approached the factories that Alice was leading them to. She was riding with Anna in Ironhide again, much to the gruff Autobot's dissatisfaction. She told them where they could find the food factories as well as well as the Energon factories. They figured they might steal some Energon for the Autobots while they were at it before they destroyed it.

The factories were on the far side of the city, which was where they were going. There wasn't very much activity going on within the factories, but there were people still there. There were even some Decepticons patrolling around the buildings. But it didn't look like they were going to be a problem at all.

"All right." Will spoke very quietly to the entire group and the vehicles that were sitting all around them. "This is going to be a cinch. We're going to bust in, get what we need, destroy some of the Decepticons and then the facilities. Don't kill or harm any humans, if we can help it."

Everyone nodded as they prepared their selves.

"All right. Let's roll in." Optimus Prime said before he and the Autobots made a quick transformation.

As soon as they transformed, everyone was rushing towards the factories, weapons locked and ready. It was time to start a fight. Anna couldn't help but feel excitement as she ran along side her father, raising the light rifle that he had given her to protect herself. It was really time to test herself for this mission.


	21. Chapter Twenty

When all of the firing began, all of Hell broke loose.

Bullets and Energon blasts went flying and slamming into the Pretender guards as they patrolled the facilities. The impacts sent them flying off their feet and in many directions, startling them out of their bored thoughts running through their processors. The Decepticons that had not been hit were startled enough to whip around to see what was going on and they were quickly joined with their comrades in piles of scrap metal.

Autobots and humans rushed forward at the Decepticons, quickly engaging with the ones who survived and got to their feet to attack the attackers. They had to move quickly before any one of the Cons could recover or call for back up.

"Sideswipe! Sunstreaker! Get to the doors of the building! Open them!" Optimus Prime called out as he used his Energon blade to slash through a Decepticon.

The twins both nodded sharply before they rushed towards the building and began slashing the huge metal doors with their long blades. They came down with loud bangs and screeches of metal. From the other side of the doors, inside the facility, there came screams and startled yelps from human slaves that had been working the night shift. Will and the DATAR quickly entered the building with Ironhide and Bumblebee covering them as they ran inside and began shooting any Decepticon guards within the building. There were a fair few.

Of course, it didn't help when the Pretenders within the building were pretty much ready for them. They began to fire right back and nearly hit many of the DATAR members.

"Humans! Get back! Let us deal with these Pitspawn!" Ironhide barked at the humans before he burst into the building and began shooting the Pretenders.

Bumblebee, Prowl and Mirage were quick to join him at the doors and helped shoot at the Pretenders, even with him growling at them to stay out of it. The humans could only step back and fire their weapons when they needed to.

But by the looks of it, Ironhide was doing pretty well on his own taking care of the Pretenders. Will could only look around the building at the screaming human slaves as they cowered and watched with terror at the horrific battle between the alien robots. "GET DOWN! TAKE COVER!" He yelled at them, waving for all of the humans to get down. The human slaves within the building were quick to listening, lying flat on the ground and covering their heads as the big black Autobot destroyed many of their tormentors.

Anna was standing near her father, watching over his shoulder as Ironhide did his work. She couldn't help but feel amazed by how fast he was with his large cannons. He was the fastest shooter she had ever seen, and quite powerful. She was starting to wonder who would win if Ironhide and Starscream were pitted against one another. Her bets were leaning more towards the Autobot as she watched him shoot down the Decepticons. He was a truly amazing warrior.

But her smile quickly faded when she caught sight of a Decepticon Pretender on one of the high cat walks high above his head, starting to drop down with a Energon blade in his claws. He was looking forward to slamming it down right on Ironhide's head, possibly injuring him badly.

"IRONHIDE!" Anna screamed before she whipped up her rifle and shot at the Pretender above Ironhide. She knew it was a risky shot but she had to do something to help him.

Luckily for her and the Autobot, her shot slammed right into the Decepticon's head, causing it to explode on impact. The rest of him fell uselessly against Ironhide's head, making him jerk around to see what just hit him. His glowing eyes watched as the deactivated Pretender fell to the ground before he looked over at Anna. He gave a little grunt before he smirked at her and nodded his thanks to her.

Anna could only smile right back at him as she took aim at another Pretender and began firing. She was proud of herself. Her sharp shooting lessons with her father was really paying off. She was not the only one to start helping out with shooting Pretenders. Her father and the DATAR began to assist while the other Autobots were rushing off to secure the other facilities.

"Nice shot, hun!" Will had to say as he grinned at her. He was really proud of her and it showed greatly in that smile.

Grinning back at him, Anna nodded as she contined to shoot Pretenders. She had to pause for a single moment as she got a good look around the facility and found that there were large furnaces lined up at the farthest end of the building. She could see and smell burning bodies within the burning flames and she realized exactly what kind of facility this was.

It was a human burning factory. A place where dead humans were gotten rid of.

"Aw, man. This is just sick." Anna heard Spike say beside her.

Glancing at him, Anna saw the horror and disgust on his face. She agreed with him. She had heard of these factories but never seen them. She had never wanted to. But seeing them now, she felt sick to her stomach. She was looking forward to destroying this building when they got down with the raids.

It was not long at all before all of the Decepticons were destroyed and the factories were under DATAR and Autobot control. There were about thirty five human slaves in all that were gathered outside of the burning buildings, rounded out of the factories before their destruction. All of them looked terrified of the Autobots, even though some of them were in vehicle mode and the DATAR were loading up supplies into them. Optimus Prime wasn't exactly too happy as he watched the DATAR loading up a large trailer that they had found. He was the only one there that could haul that thing and he wasn't looking forward to doing it. But he didn't complain.

Will and Epps, however, were busy trying to convince the human slaves that the Autobots were not there to harm them. It wasn't exactly easy.

"You have nothing to fear of these alien robots, everyone!" Will called over as he looked around at the afraid faces of most of the humans. He reached over and patted Ironhide's large hood, which Anna was sitting on with the Autobot's permission. She was somewhat trying to hide a laugh as she listened to him grumbling about having supplies being loaded into his bed. "These are the Autobots! They are here to save Earth, not enslave it! They have come to free human kind from the Decepticons! We've been fighting side by side, trying to destroy the Cons, stopping them from hurting people! Now that we have destroyed these Decepticon Pretenders, you are all freed! Join us! We will take you all to freedom! You can choose to fight with us or just be safe back at our camp!"

"What about that one?" one man called as he pointed at Alice as she stood beside Ironhide and Anna. "We know that one! She's one of them!"

"She's not with them any more! She's defected from their side!" Anna called out as she looked around at everyone, sharing a brief smile at Alice, who did not really return it.

"Bull shit!" That's Shockwave's direct subordinate! She's one of his favorites! Why would she help you!" Someone yelled. And it was that voice that made Anna tense up and look around wildly for the owner. For some reason, that voice sounded way too familiar. It was like a voice from her past that she would have never heard again.

The man that the voice belonged to was standing in the farthest back but he slowly stepped forward when all eyes turned towards him. He was just barely standing in the shadows but when the light hit his face, Anna felt her breath catch sharply in her chest. She could not believe her very eyes. She couldn't believe what this man looked like. He was a very handsome man, a little older than she was. He had dark tanned skin and cut short dark brown hair sticking up in spikes of sweat from the heat of the battle and working all night. He had darker brown eyes than she remembered but the face was just too familiar. He was wearing worn clothes, much like the rest of the human slaves.

But this man, the way he looked, Anna couldn't help but slowly slide off Ironhide's hood and landing on the ground, staring at him in shock. She thought she would have never seen him again. She knew he had died. She had watched him die. But yet, he was standing there right in front of her.

There was a look of recognition in his own eyes but the man kept a hard look on his face. He knew Anna's face but he was trying not to show it. But he couldn't help but step back when Anna walked towards him, fully aware that everyone was watching them.

"Wh-what…?" Anna stammered with growing tears in her eyes as she walked right up to the man, staring into his face. "Pe-Pete?" her voice broke slightly as she slowly reached up to touch the man's face. "Ho-how…?"

The man stiffened before quickly catching her wrist, stopping her from touching him. His eyes had darkened at the very name she had called him. He shook his head as he gave her a very dark look. "I'm not….." He was saying.

But Anna quickly cut him off as she threw herself forward and wrapped her arms around his chest, hugging him tightly. She was fully aware of the shocked and alarmed looks she was getting from everyone that was watching. She just didn't care! She couldn't believe it! He was here! He was alive! Pete was alive! "Pete!" She cried out in happiness. "But I thought…..!" She was saying.

"Dude, bro. I think she knows that human." Sideswipe said, nudging Sunstreaker.

Giving his brother a wry look for giving his paint job a small scrap, Sunstreaker snorted. "You think, Sides?" He asked sarcastically.

"Pete! How are you alive? I thought you were…..!" Anna was crying into the man's chest.

But the man tensed up before he grabbed her shoulders and shoved her hard away from him, a growl deep within his chest. The pressure he used against her sent her staggering back and stumbling. She would have fell to the ground if not for Will. He caught his daughter before she went slamming to the ground, glaring at the man for shoving her.

"Hey!" Maggie exclaimed, quite angry of how this man just shoved her friend. "What's with the shoving?"

"I am not my fucking twin brother, got that? I am not Pete!" The man snapped, shooting Maggie a look before looking at the alarmed look on Anna's face.

Anna had to stare at him with alarm and shock. She couldn't believe that this man had shoved her so hard but after hearing what he just said, she had to be more surprised. She could hear quite a few exclaims from everyone around her for what the man had done. She could hear Ironhide growling his engine in warning towards the man who claimed to be Pete's twin brother.

"Tw-twin….brother?" Anna asked surprised. "Bu-but….who…if you're….."

Giving her a lazy but somewhat dark look, the man with Pete's face shook his head and squared his shoulders. He did not look happy one bit that he was facing this predictament. "My name is Luc. Pierre, or Pete as you know him by, are twin brothers. I'm the older of the two." He said with a tinge of acid in his tone.

"But…..but I don't understand." Anna had said with alarm. "Pete….! He never told me that he had a brother." And then, now she thought about it, she didn't know a whole lot about her deceased lover. She didn't know anything about his family. They hadn't really spoke about it. So she was quite surprised that she was meeting Pete's older brother, more or less, his twin.

Pete's twin, Luc shook his head with a very dry look before he folded his arms across his chest. "Yeah? Well I'm not surprised. We had a falling out some years back. So why the hell would he talk about me?" He asked sourly. "And if he's dead, good! I sure don't care!"

Now shocked and hurt and angry, Anna gave Luc a look for his words. She didn't understand why he was saying it like that. She didn't understand the hate in his words for Pete. "What the hell is that suppose to mean? Pete is dead and you're glad about it? Why….?" She was asking angrily.

"Don't waste your time on him, Anna."Alicespoke up her tone quite dead. "You're speaking to a Decepticon loyalist. He's a huge fan of what the Decepticons are doing to the Earth."

That shocked everyone. Anna, especially. But Luc shotAlicea look of acid before he lift his head and tried to look proud of what he was being accused of. Even with a few others growling at the mere mentioning of him being a loyalist. "Yeah? So what if I am?" He demanded.

"WHY?" Anna demanded right back, quite angry to hear that Pete's own brother was a fan of the Decepticons. "They murdered hundreds of thousands of people! They enslaved us! They murdered your brother! Why do you like them? Why?" She couldn't believe that Luc was a loyalist. It was almost insulting to the memory of Pete, that his own brother respected and worshipped the Decepticons.

Dark eyes on Anna, Luc shook his head as he glowered at her. "That's very easy." He paused for only a moment. "This god damned planet needed a disaster all of those years ago. We needed a change, a lesson taught to us. The Decepticons came and brought that. And now they're the ones who are in power. They are our masters. If we just do what they say, we won't die. Enslaved, so what? Why fight the unevitable?" He asked coldly. "And I don't give a shit if Pete is dead by a Decepticon's hand. If he wasn't so stupid, he wouldn't have…"

But Anna couldn't help it after hearing Luc calling Pete stupid. She just snapped. She felt so much anger just rise up within her that she had to throw her fist and slam it against Luc's face, causing him to stagger and yelp in pain after being punched by this much smaller girl. Her reaction startled many but it brought out a sound clip of loud applause out of Bumblebee as he nodded his approval for what she had done. Eventually the twins joined him and Epps whistled.

"Don't you ever talk about Pete like that!" Anna snapped at Luc as he touched his now split lip. "You do not know what Pete had been through! You don't know how he was murdered for saving my life! He protected me! And I am not going to just stand here and let you talk shit about the man that I loved! More or less, how could you even talk about your own twin brother like that?"

Teeth gritted, Luc glared at her as he straightened, a hand balling up into a tight fist. He looked like he was about to swing right back at her. He even made a move to do so, standing up sharply and face Anna.

That got a negative reaction out of everyone. No one could really be sure if he would have tried to hit Anna or not but no one was going to let him.

A roar snarled right out of Ironhide as he lurched forward and slammed on his brakes again before he could try and hit the man. All the while, Anna quickly snatched up into the air, causing her to yelp in surprise as she looked up at who had done it. It had been Bumblebee who was now holding her protectivingly in his hands close to his chest, glaring down at Luc with a string of Cybertronian swear words coming out of his processor.

As for Will, he leapt forward and jabbed his rifle nozzle right into Luc's chest, causing him to grunt from the air being knocked out of him. "Were you just about to hit my daughter?" He snapped. "You ever raise a hand at her, you will find yourself full of lead! That is if Bumblebee or Ironhide don't get to you first!"

"Ironhide, calm down." Optimus Prime spoke as he stepped closer and towered over the large black Top Kick truck, as he growled his engine threateningly. He looked down at the pair of humans having a glare off before hovering his hand right over Will. "Calm, Commander Lennox. He held back his fist. He was not going to hit her." He then gave Luc a look of warning. "But if he had, I would have stopped Ironhide and Bumblebee. But I would have not stopped you. We, Autobots, do not allow violence against younglings or females. Try to hit Annabelle Lennox, and you may regret it." He warned the man.

Luc just glared up at him, choosing wisely not to say anything.

There was a long awkward silence between everyone before Will took a deep breath and lowered his rifle. He continued to glare at Luc for a moment before deciding to look around at everyone that still looked quite frightened of the Autobots. "Listen up, everyone." He called, getting all's attention. "Take a good look at what just happened. This asshole," He shot Luc a dark look. "Just threatened to hit my daughter, Anna. And it was two Autobots that had the bigger reaction. Take a good look at what Bumblebee just did. He pulled her to safety when he thought she was being threatened." He shook his head, motioning around at all of the Autobots. "Look, everyone. I know you're all afraid of them. But you really don't need to be. You can trust them. They're not here to hurt you or anyone. No one but the Decepticons. My daughter, Anna sent out an SOS out for the Autobots and asked them here to help Earth. They came here and swore that they would do just that." He pointed up at Bumblebee and Anna. "Does it look like he's hurting her? If he wanted to hurt her, he could have a long time ago. It's your choice, everyone. You can either stay here and remain being slaves to the damn Decepticons or you can come with us to be free. Make up your mind now because we are leaving." He said now turning away and twirling his finger to signal that it was time to wrap everything up.

"I'll come and fight for you against the Decepticons." A young woman spoke up.

Everyone looked at her with surprise as she stepped forward. She was looking up at the Autobots somewhat uneasily but there was a look of determination in her eyes. She was mostly eyeing Bumblebee and Anna, though, a smile threatening to place itself on her lips. "If you trust these Autobots, then I will. I will fight against the Decepticons. It's time we did something anyway about all of this slavery." She said.

Anna had to smile as she just sat in Bumblebee's hand, looking down at the woman. "What's your name?" She had to ask.

Smiling back up at her, the woman held up her head high as if proud. "My name is Kaleia. And I believe you. I believe what you say about these Autobots. I believe that they're here to save us. If they weren't, they could have easily killed us the minute they showed up here with you. So I will join you in the DATAR and fight for freedom. And I will fight along side them." She said proudly.

Another young woman nodded as she stepped forward and stood as tall as she could. "My name is Brandi and I will fight too! It's time we kicked these Decepticons the hell off our planet!" She said boldly.

One by one, even though slowly, all of the humans but Luc stepped forward and declared that they would too fight against the Decepticons. It made many smile as they looked around at all of these brave humans as they took their stand with them. But Luc remained back, still touching his bloody lip that Anna had given him. He did not make a sound of standing up against the Decepticons but watched with a glower.

Anna looked down at him before she sighed and tapped Bumblebee's hand, motioning to him to put her down. He did very hesitantly though. He kept a wary eye on Luc as he put her down and watched her walk straight over to the man again. All Luc did was glower at her, not looking happy at all.

But what surprised him and everyone else was that Anna extended her hand towards him. "Luc, look." Anna began carefully. "At some extent, my Decepticon Master, Starscream was great too. I did respect him, even if it was mostly fear and hate that made me do it." She shook her head, keeping her hand held out towards him. "Starscream basically raised me from a baby. He did a lot for me that I will never forget. But he also did too much against me. He murdered my mother right in front of me. He kept me as a slave. He bossed me around and threatened me that if I didn't do what he said, he would kill me. He murdered the one man that I loved, your twin brother. I don't know what happened between you and Pete, but if you knew him as well as I did, you would know that if he was here right now, he would not leave until you agreed to come with us. Please, Luc. Don't stay here. If you stay here, you will die." She said very seriously. "I know Shockwave's reputation." She paused to glance atAlicebefore looking back at him. "When he finds out that we attacked his facilities in his city, he will kill you out of rage. Please, don't stay here. Come with us."

For a moment, Luc glared at her but slowly the glare went away as comprehension took over. He knew she was right. He knew that Shockwave would kill him if he stayed there. He knew what kind of Decepticon that he was.

Slowly, Luc lift his hand before he lashed it out and grabbed Anna by the wrist, yanking her forward. He ignored the startled yelp that came out of her and how everyone all around them tensed up, watching with warning. He ignored them as he just pulled Anna very close to him before he dropped his mouth close to her ear. "You may know Pete but you don't know him enough to know the real reason why he fell in love with you." He growled into her ear. "He only met you to spite me."

And then he pushed her again, earning a very startled but confused look. She didn't understand his meaning. What had he meant that Pete just met her to spite him? She had never met Luc before. So what the hell did….?

But before she could even ponder it some more, the second wave of hell broke loose.

A startled whirl came right out of Mirage before he jerked around on his tires and let loose a loud honk. "Optimus Prime, sir! Incoming!" He bellowed out of his radio system.

Everyone jumped and looked around before they heard the loud thumps of heavy foot fall. It only took but a moment before the trees snapped from being thrown sidewards and a large Decepticon had decided to join them. A large lethal gun twirling into his hand, cannon fire exploded near everyone, causing many to exclaim in shock. The Decepticon was a violent purple with black markings all over his body. A single glaring red eye jerked around, taking in everyone that was there before he began firing at the Autobots and humans.

"SHOCKWAVE!" The twins exclaimed as they quickly transformed.

Immediately, Optimus Prime charged forward until he was standing between Shockwave and the others, his Energon sword snapping out of his arm and holding it up high. "Autobots! Protect the humans! Ironhide, Prowl and Bumblebee! Try and get the humans to safety! Mirage, Sunstreaker and Sideswipe! Attack Shockwave!" He ordered.

Grumbling, Ironhide threw open his doors and honked his horn very loud. "You heard the Prime, humans! Move it!" He barked through his radio system.

People began moving as fast as they could towards the Autobots who transformed quickly and jumped into their open doors. Will, Epps, and the DATAR quickly provided back up for Optimus Prime, Mirage and the twins as they began attacking Shockwave. Anna quickly grabbed Luc's arm and started pulling him towards Ironhide. "Come on, Luc! Let's go!" She yelled.

"I never said that I was going with you!" Luc yelled over the loud booms and clashes but he was still running right behind her towards the large black Autobot.

"Yeah? Well, I'm not giving you much of a choice! And neither will Shockwave now that he's here!" Anna snapped back at him.

Suddenly the ground rumbled right from under Anna's feet before it split open as something big was pushing itself up and out. She gasped as she tripped over the broken ground and went slamming against the pavement, knocking air out of her lungs. Luc had gone right with her after tripping over her and slammed down onto the ground right next to her, making him yelp. That was the least of their worries though.

Especially when Anna felt something wrap around her legs and yank her backwards. She couldn't help but scream as she was dragged and torn against the ground as something was pulling her back.

"NO!" Will shouted when he heard her screaming and whirled around to see what was happening. He saw what had a hold of his screaming daughter. He turned and bolted after her right with Spike, who was trying to raise the rifle in his hands and shoot at the newly arrived Decepticon.

Anna was scraped quite badly before she was yanked upward off the ground and into the air. She could only scream and thrash around to try and see what had just attacked her. But she froze with alarm and heart wrenching fear to see the Decepticon glaring at her.

Soundwave.

"Target acquired." Came the metallic hiss right out of the huge, many armed Decepticon as he held her up directly in front of her eyes.

Anna could only just freeze with fear. She knew that she was in a whole of trouble. She knew Soundwave's rep just like she knew Shockwave's. Both of them were nearly the most trusted Decepticons under Megatron and knew exactly how dangerous both of them were. Especially when both of them were here and there were only seven Autobots and one defected Pretender to help fight them with a mere handful of humans.

They were seriously fucked.


	22. Chapter Twenty One

"FRAG!" Ironhide boomed as soon as he saw Soundwave have Anna in his greasy claws. He now chose to ignore Optimus Prime's orders and transformed, knocking all of the supplies right out of his bed. As soon as he was freed of everything, he started stomping towards the newly arrived Decepticon, his cannons whirling to life. "Soundwave! Leave her alone, you piece of scrap! Fight me instead!"

Soundwave merely glanced at the Autobot Weapons Specialist with irritation before he opened up a compartment within his chest cavity and something shot out towards Anna. It had many on edge as they waited for it to hit her but it startled all when it turned out to be one of Soundwave's subordinates, Laserbeak. The small aerial Decepticon did not give any one a single glance as he dove towards Anna and snatched her with his claws right out of Soundwave's, taking off into the air.

"NO! FUCK!" Will screamed as he watched Laserbeak taking off with his daughter. "NO! ANNA!"

This was seriously bad! Anna realized as she was being swooped away with Laserbeak. She knew that she was in seriously in trouble as she was being carried off. She knew that if she allowed him to take her, she would die a horrible death. She had to get out of this. Somehow. And the only way she could think of doing it was disrupting Laserbeak's flight pattern.

Teeth gritted tightly, Anna swung her legs upward as hard as she could until she felt her feet smash against the raptor bird like robot's head. She heard the satisfying screech of pain and rage as he lost some control and went crashing down right on the roof top of one of the buildings that were still somewhat standing. It sent both of them crashing and rolling across the rough and broken cement until they finally came to a stop.

Quickly, Anna was back on her feet, shooting a nasty glare at the Decepticon as he was flapping his razor sharp wings and trying to get to his feet. She wished that she had a weapon to defend herself. She was in a serious bind for having none to defend herself with. The words that Starscream always spoke to her sure came back to bite her right in the ass. 'Do not ever drop your weapon! No matter what the situation is! You never drop your weapon! Your weapon is your life! You hold onto it with every inch of your life!' He had roared at her many times.

Now she was wishing she had actually listened to him.

Screeching in rage, Laserbeak turned a burning glare onto her before he charged at her, swinging his bladed wings at her.

As fast as she could, Anna moved away from him, doing what she could to avoid getting slashed to pieces with those wings. She heard a rip from her shirt as the bladed wing sliced into her middle but felt no sting. She had managed to dodge in time before getting hurt. She didn't have time to inspect the damage to her shirt for Laserbeak was coming at her again. She could only do what she could to moving as fast as she could away from him.

But it proved that he was a little faster than her the more angrier he got at her. He was nearly on her the third time of charging at her.

Suddenly there was a loud whoosh and a huge blade came slamming down on Laserbeak, slicing him into two.

Startled, Anna's head jerked upward to see who had just attacked the Decepticon and then felt a smile curl on her face as she saw the silver Autobot twin, Sideswipe standing near the building. He had been helping Ironhide attacking Soundwave when he saw Anna's little predicatment. In the result, he swung his right arm blade over his head and brought it heavily down on the Decepticon that had been attacking Anna. He could only give her a sly smile and a quirky wink before he looked down at someone who was shouting. He swooped down once he dislodged his blade from the roof top and then came back up with Spike and, surprisingly, Luc. He lowered them both carefully onto the roof before charging back in to attack Soundwave.

"Hey! Anna! Did'ja miss me?" Spike asked grinning as he raced over to her. He held up her rifle that she had dropped before.

Grinning back at him, Anna took her rifle and nodded back at him as she threw the rifle strap around her shoulders. "Of course, Sam Jr." She told him before laughing at the pouting look on his face after being called that. He didn't look too happy at his original name. But she chose to ignore that and look at Luc, her face falling a little into a rather disgruntled look. She eyed the spare rifle he had in his hands, raising an eyebrow in the wake. "I thought you were a Decepticon loyalist. Why are you helping us?" She asked in a rude skeptical way.

Luc shared a glance with her before he shook his head. He had quite the annoyed look on his face but there was something else. "Because I don't like just any Decepticon. There is only one that I like. And I'm working for him, and him only." He looked at her squarely and seriously. "I may be Shockwave's slave but I work for Starscream, in secret. I've been his spy for years, trying to find out what Shockwave has been up to for a while now. He apparently offended Starscream and that has him on edge." He shook his head again when Anna gave him a very surprised look. "Look, Anna. Starscream doesn't want you dead. He's been looking for you because he wants to punish you for what you did by bringing the Autobots here, but he does not have the intentions of killing you! Nor letting you be taken by Soundwave and Shockwave! They have orders to take you to Megatron and he will kill you in the most humiliating and painful way. I've been asked by Starscream, weeks ago to help look for you and keep you safe until he finds you." He finally admitted his real agenda.

Very surprised, Anna just could not believe those words. She couldn't believe that Luc actually worked for Starscream in secret. But she sure didn't like it. It made her frown darkly at him before she shook her head at him, hitting the safety button on her rifle and looking ready to start shooting. "If that's the case, then you better walk away, Luc. Because if you're keeping me safe just for Starscream to hurt me, then you can just kiss my ass." She snapped angrily before she tossed her mane of blonde and lavender hair out of her eyes. "And what did you mean by before? What did you mean that Pete only met me to spite you? I don't even know you!"

For a long moment, Luc stared hard at her before he looked away rather gloomily. He did not look too happy about having this conversation. He started to turn to walk away from Anna and Spike, not wanting to have this conversation with her. But before he could get too far, Anna lashed out and grabbed his arm, yanking him back to face her.

"Answer me! You are not going to walk away from this! I want to know!" Anna growled at him, keeping a tight hold of his arm.

Snorting sourly, Luc shook his head as he ripped his arm right out of her grip. "You're not going to fucking like it." He warned her.

"Try me." Anna snapped right back at him. "You saying that you work for Starscream pissed me off enough."

Giving her a heavy eyed look, Luc looked away from her, pausing for a moment as he tried to choose his words carefully. He knew she wasn't going to take this well at all. Not after what she thought she knew about the so called man she loved. "I saw you first." He started, looking back at her and seeing the surprised look on her face. "I was doing some work for Shockwave at the Black Alloy and I had ran into Pete there. We hadn't seen each other for a few years so we were pretty surprised and pleased. But then you came in with Starscream. I saw you first. Pete saw me staring at you and saw you next. We were brothers but we were also so competitive against one another that it caused trouble between us." His tone was easing down to glum and somewhat saddness as he remembered that day. "I wanted to approach you and meet you. But I was the shy twin when it came to beautiful girls. Pete knew that I wanted to meet you. He knew that I was interested in you. And because of our competitive ways against one another, he got to you first." His face harded as he looked Anna right into the surprised eyes. "He told me that since I was so shy, he would go over to you and tell you about me. He was going to introduce us, me and you. But he didn't. He only went over to introduce himself to you and to piss me off."

Anna was completely stunned by what Luc was telling her. She just could not believe it. To hear these words from him, to hear what Pete had done, she just couldn't believe that he would do that to his own brother. To say that he would introduce a girl like her to someone else and then take her for himself, she didn't believe it. "No. Pete….Pete would never…..he loved me, Luc! He loved me! He would never do….." She was saying.

Luc slowly nodded as he looked directly at her. "I'm pretty sure he did. He had plenty of time to fall in love with you after he promised me that he would introduce you to me. He was going to. But he decided to be a bastard and took your interest into himself." He said rather darkly. "Just seeing you that first time, Anna, I fell in love with you first. But Pete took you for himself after he promised me that he would help me meet you. He always wanted the things that I wanted and he always took those things. He took my chance by meeting you. What was I suppose to do about that? Walk right up to you two and fight my own brother for your heart?"

Completely stunned, Anna slowly shook her head. She didn't know what to say about this. She could not believe that Pete would do something like that to his own twin brother. To promise his brother that he would help meet a girl and then take that girl for himself. "Why….why didn't you just come talk to me, yourself? Then that wouldn't have happened." She said breathlessly.

"I told you. I'm the shy twin." Luc said with a sigh, looking away from her. There was a slight flush to his cheeks not, providing the fact that he was blushing with embarrassment. "I'm not good at talking with beautiful girls. I was so afraid that you would have told me to hit the road."

It could not be helped. Anna found his reaction a little cute. She hated the idea of what Pete had done but it seemed to have hurt Luc a lot more than Pete might have realized. She couldn't help but bite her lip and reach up, touching his cheek and making him look back at her. "Okay. Then let's try this. Hi. My name is Annabelle May Lennox. Everyone calls me Anna. And you are?" She asked, almost with a tease.

A slight smile curled on Luc's face before he reached up and took her hand, giving it a shake of greeting. "Hello, Anna. My name is Luc La Beauv. I believe you dated my brother. But I can honestly say, I wished I had the guts to talk to you first before he did. Maybe I could have won your heart first. He was sure a lucky man to have someone so lovely and strong willed like you." He said in a pleasing way.

Anna smiled right back as she shook his head. "It's not too late. After we get done with this war zone, you want to have a cup of coffee with me?" She asked him.

A wide grin spread across Luc's face as he looked quite delighted to hear that. "I would very much love to, Miss Anna-cherie." He told her.

"Dude." Spike spoke up, looking between the two with a look of weirdness. "This is really awkward with you two asking each other out and me just standing her watching you."

Both Anna and Luc had to laugh as they shared a glance with each other and then back at Spike. But then Luc stopped laughing immediately as his eyes flashed back to Anna and his face paled. "ANNA!" He suddenly yelled, startling her and Spike.

Before Anna even had the chance to turn around to see what Luc had been yelling about, she felt him grab her shoulders and pretty much throw her to the side before he lashed out a hand and shoved Spike backwards away from the spot. After that, there came a loud roar and a heavy thud, followed by a gasp of pain from Luc. His body had jerked violently as he started to stagger back and it only took Anna and Spike a moment to realize why once they had been thrown backwards by him.

Standing right in front of Luc, a sharp blade connected to a long tail, Ravage had intended to hurt Anna but instead got him. His tail was slammed directly into Luc's chest on the right side, near his shoulder. Blood was running hot and thick down Luc's front while he choked and blood started to flow from his mouth.

"NO!" Anna screamed as she looked on with horror.

Snarling with irritation, Ravage jerked his tail and tossed Luc off to the side, letting him go crashing across the roof top before he turned to glare at Anna. He gave her a vicious look as he began stalking towards her, his tail still dripping with Luc's blood and twitching in the air as he prepared to leap at her.

"Hey! Hey! Stupid cat! Leave her alone!" Spike shouted, now starting to raise his rifle to shoot at him.

Ravage snapped his attention to the younger teen before a gatlin gun raised right out of his shoulder blade and aimed at him, starting to whirl to life.

"Oh, shit." Spike whimpered in alarm, starting to back up.

Suddenly, there came another roar before something came flying out of no where and collided with Ravage, sending both of them crashing and rolling across the roof top as they began snapping their sharp jaws and swiping claws at one another. Both Anna and Spike were completely stunned to see who had attacked Ravage, saving them both from being shot or clawed to death by the vicious Decepticon. They couldn't believe that he was here when he was suppose to be back at the camp, helping guard it.

"Cheetor!" Both shouted in surprise.

The yellow and black spotted Autobot ignored them as he continued to bite and claw at Ravage. He didn't bother using any of his weapons against the other feral feline robot, who was trying to use his against him. But guns were not very good short distance weapons for an up close and personal fight. Cheetor made sure that the guns didn't go off by accident as he ripped them right off of Ravage's back and sent them flying into the air. He then proceeded to locking his sharp claws around the Decepticon's head and sinking his sharp fangs into his neck.

Ripping and tearing at the metal and wires as hard as he could, Cheetor sent Ravage's head flying into the air after ripping it off before he slammed his claws into the Decepticon's chest, destroying his spark chamber.

A moment later, Cheetor was turning away from the pile of scrap and looking over at Anna and Spike, who had yet to move from the stunned positions they had taken. "Hey, Anna, Spike. Are you two okay?" He asked, looking them both over.

"Cheetor!" Spike asked, snapping out of his stupor and smiling brightly. "What are you doing here? I thought you were suppose to help guard the camp!"

Cheetor just shrugged as best as he could and smiled rather sheepishly. "I'm not much of a guard cat-bot, Spike. I wanted some of the action so I kind of followed everyone here." He told him.

"Spike!"

Spike blinked a few times before he looked around and then hurried over to the side of the building and looked down. He saw Sam looking wildly around, searching for him and looking quite frantic for not being able to see where his son was. "Hey, Dad! Up here!" Spike called down, waving his arm in the air.

Sam looked up with wide eyes before relief settled in to see that his son was looking just fine. "Spike, are you okay? Is Anna up there with you? Is she okay? Will's freaking out down here while fighting Shockwave!" He called up to his son.

Glancing over his shoulder at Anna, who was now hurrying over to Luc as he laid bloodied on the roof and not moving. "Yeah, Anna's okay! But that Luc guy! He's hurt really bad! Ravage got him and tried to come after us but Cheetor's here! He just ripped Ravage's head off!" He called back down to Sam.

Anna was knelt down beside the still alive but really hurt Luc, cradling his head. She had tears in her eyes, streaming down her cheeks as she looked down at him. She could see that he was in bad shape. He was bleeding heavily from his wounds and the blood trailing from his lips didn't look too good either. "Luc, stay with me, okay? Just stay with me. You're not going to die on me. You still have to have coffee with me! And we have to get to know each other." She told him, sorrowfully.

Rasping in pain, Luc looked up at her, weakly. He was not looking too good. "Anna…" He gasped, choking on some blood. "Anna…..I'm sorry…I'm sorry for not meeting….yo-you before. I just wished…..I just wished that I had been braver…stronger…..enough to meet you. And then…..maybe you and I could have…..had a chance." He choked on more blood.

"Don't say that, Luc. We still have a chance. You're going to be fine." Anna sobbed, brushing his sweaty bangs out of his dark brown eyes.

Luc groaned, looking up painfully. His eyes were slowly starting to widen. "Anna…run…now….." He begged her.

Anna shook her head as she ran her fingers through his wet hair. "No. I'm not leaving you alone, Luc. Someone has got to watch over you. I am not going to let you…" She was saying.

"NO! RUN! ANNA! ABOVE YOU!" Luc found the strength to shout.

Gasping sharply, Anna jerked around to look up with Spike and Cheetor to see a dark mass coming at them fast. The burning red glare told them all immediately that it was a Decepticon who slammed heavily onto the roof of the building. There had been sign or sound of him coming so they couldn't explain how he came into the fight so quietly. The building shook heavily as the Decepticon slammed down, causing a slight cave in from the already unsteady structure of the building. Anna felt her breath catch in her throat as she looked very horrified to see Dirge.

Dirge glared down at her for a moment before he jerked his head around when Cheetor snarled and charged at him. He growled right back as he turned to face the Autobot before lashing out a hand and catching him right out of the air as Cheetor tried to attack him. He held him by the throat, ignoring the sharp claws scraping viciously against his arms. "Ah, the so called fastest Autobot in the Autobot forces." Dirge growled with dark amusement before he lashed out his other hand and wrapped it around Cheetor's bottom half. "You were fast, but not fast enough, Autobot-scum."

"NO!" Anna and Spike screamed in horror.

But it was completely too late.

Dirge ripped Cheetor in half, throwing both heavily sparking and shattered pieces in different directions, until they crashed away. He then lashed out with his hands and snatched up the screaming Anna and startled Spike, who then decided to start yelling for help.

"NOOOO! Spike!" Sam yelled in horror as he watched what just happened.

Everyone still fighting Shockwave and Soundwave jerked around to see what was going on and was horrified to see that Dirge had entered the fray and captured Anna and Spike. Will felt his heart nearly stop when he saw his screaming daughter in that dangerous Decepticon's hands. "Annabelle! No!" He cried out in pain and fear as he started to race towards the building.

Right behind him, Ironhide was thundering towards the building, his glowing blue eyes starting to flicker red. "Dirge, you son of a glitch! Leave the children alone! Put them down, you fragging scrap heap! Fight me!" He snarled, his cannons whirling hot red and ready to fire.

Dirge ignored him as he bent his knees and then jumped up into the air, quickly spreading his wings and blasting into the night sky. His engines blasted him into the air, sending him too high for anyone to shoot after him and try to save the two.

Both still in Dirge's hands, struggling, Anna and Spike looked down at the ground with horror, seeing the matching looks on everyone's faces.

"DADDY! IRONHIDE!" Anna screamed in terror as she did her best to kick at Dirge's hand, knowing how hopeless that truly was.

"DAD! HELP!" Spike shouted, trying so hard to pull himself free.

But it was useless.

Dirge was blasting away and transforming in mid-flight, into his F-32 Fighter Jet mode. He didn't slow down for one moment even as he tossed both Anna and Spike into his tight fit cockpit, causing them to squish against one another. He just blasted off into the night, leaving Soundwave and Shockwave to deal with the Autobots and the humans. Just like how it was planned out from the beginning.

"ANNA!" Both Will and Ironhide roared into the night sky, knowing how useless it was. All the while, Sam was screaming for his son.

"It seems the plan had worked, Shockwave." Soundwave spoke up, sounding rather smug as he looked over at his fellow Decepticon, who was starting to turn to retreat. "It's time to leave…"

But Soundwave did not get to finish his words as there came a twin set of angry roars as Sideswipe and Sunstreaker kicked off the ground and swung their blades towards his head. Their long blades came slicing through the huge Decepticon's neck, severing it violently and sending it flying off into the trees all the while the twins kicked the huge lumbering body away from all of the humans.

All the while, Optimus Prime had thrust his Energon blade right through Shockwave's chest before throwing him off to the side. At the same time, both of the now destroyed Decepticons didn't even know what had hit them before they fell to the ground.

Even with their destruction and hitting the ground hard enough to cause a violent shake, the ground only shook harder and made many humans cry out in alarm as Ironhide and Bumblebee both fell heavily to their knees, watching as Dirge disappeared into the night. They both looked horrified to what had happened.

"Fragging pits. I've failed." Ironhide groaned, quite painfully as he lowered his head. He had sworn Guardianship over Anna and this was what happened. He had lost her. There was nothing more painful and humiliating than losing the one he had sworn his very Spark on to protect.

Other than the death of his young charge.

Now that would truly kill him.


	23. Chapter 23

Fear, pain and hate were coursing through both Anna and Spike as they were squished against one another in Dirge's cockpit. They had tried struggling and tried kicking at his control panel but he ended that by wrapping his seat restraints around them and pinning them tightly against one another. It did not stop the dreadful emotions that the two teens were now facing. They both knew that they were in a lot of trouble. They were on their way to face the ultimate doom.

Megatron.

The thing that frightened Anna the most was that Spike had been captured too. She knew that he had lived most of his life as a free rebel, never a slave of the Decepticons. He didn't know what kind of horrors that the dreadful Cons could bring upon them. He had never faced their wrath. He had never really seen what they were truly capable of. But it would not be long before he got the chance to. He was about to see the true monstrous face of the Decepticons. The one Decepticon that tortured, enslaved and constantly punished his father.

For the knowledge that Anna withheld deep within herself, she knew that Spike was about to get the worst pains of his life.

It seemed only hours as the two were pinned against one another in that cramped cockpit, looking out into the darkness as their captor carried them through the skies. They knew that it wouldn't be long now before they reached Megatron's fortress and probably their deaths. They had tried to struggle several times against Dirge's restraints but they were finally starting to wear out.

"Anna." Spike finally spoke in a bare whisper. All of the cheer and playfulness that he usually had laced within his tone was completely gone. It was all fear now. It was something that he wasn't used to and he sounded confused about what he was supposed to do about it. He was trembling hard enough that Anna felt it. "An-Anna, I'm sc-scared. Wh-what's going to hap-happen to us?"

Her heart clenching as she tried to look over her shoulder at him, Anna felt herself wince at the mere thought. She didn't want to tell him the truth about what would happen to them. She felt so responsible for him now. He would not have been in this mess if it wasn't for her. She swore to herself she was going to do everything she could to protect him.

"It's going to be okay, Spike." Anna said, knowing that it was a lie. "It will be okay. I promise I won't let any of them hurt you. I swear that I will die before any of these fucking Decepticons hurt you."

Of course, it didn't help when the restraints tightened around them, making her grimace. She knew that Dirge was listening. She shot the control panel a very dangerous, hated look before looking back at Spike with concern.

Spike let out a trembling sigh as he tried to look back at her. "Th-that's what I'm afraid of, Anna." He murmured, earning a surprised look from her. He just shook his head as he lowered his head and closed his eyes. "You know they want to kill you. For bringing the Autobots here. Wheelie, when I was talking to him, he told me how pissed off Megatron was when he found out that they were here. Mega-Megatron wants to hurt you, himself. Even Wheelie was afraid for you. He said so, himself. He said that he felt really bad for you if you were ever caught."

Anna just looked away, feeling tears in her eyes. She didn't know what to say about that. She was terrified of having to face Megatron. She knew she would probably die a horrible and painful death. She knew exactly how ruthless the Decepticon Leader was. But what frightened her even more was facing Starscream. She was more afraid of him than anyone else. She knew what he would do when he got her back. She knew that he must have been so angry at her for what she had done.

But…the words that both Alice and Luc had said to her about him, to think that…Starscream actually cared for her and wanted her to remain alive, it was still etched into her memory. She wondered exactly what Starscream's real agenda was for her. After what she had done, betraying her former Decepticon master like she had, what would he really do to her now?

Suddenly Dirge gave a jerk in the air, making both teens yelp and gasp as they crashed into one another. It felt like the Decepticon was now slowing down in the air but they couldn't see anything out in the night. A few lights were flickering on his control panel and there a series of clicks and beeps as if the Decepticon was speaking to someone now.

"Do….do you know what he's saying?" Spike whispered to Anna.

Slowly shaking her head, Anna tried to concentrate on the Cybertronian conversation. "No. He's talking too fast. But it sounds like he's arguing with someone now. He's not saying any names yet." She whispered back to him. She narrowed her eyes as she tried to listen.

And then there was a sudden burst of light as something shot out of the night sky at Dirge, causing the Decepticon to jerk and try to avoid it. It nearly clipped one of his wings but with his now retreating from whoever was attacking him. Anna and Spike could see flashes as someone was shooting at him from outside. They felt hope flaring up within them, making them think that the Autobots had come after Dirge to rescue them. It must have been Jetfire! Or maybe even Ironhide!

Just then, there was an outraged cry vibrating all around the two, making them wince as they felt Dirge now diving and twirling. They had to brace their selves against the walls of the cockpit to make sure they didn't go crashing around against the plated glass.

There was a loud crash and Dirge jerked violently in the sky. It felt like something had come crashing down on him. Anna did her best to look outside to see who was attacking. But with Dirge jerking and thrashing the air, she only ended up with a whip lash, making her cry out in pain and alarm.

Especially, when it felt like they were falling right out of the sky.

They heard the transformation of Dirge as he allowed his arms to shatter outwards out of his jet mode to start tearing out at the attacker but whoever it was ripped off one of them and threw it off into the night. The spinning of the jets became almost unbearable and both teens had to close their eyes to keep their selves from vomiting. They could feel the attacker ripping at Dirge and could hear their Decepticon captor swearing violently and yelling out in pain as he was being ripped apart.

There was a loud screech and the sound of tearing metal before something wrapped around Anna and Spike and they were jerked out into the night air, causing them to gasp and cry out as they opened their eyes. They could see the heavily sparking and Energon bleeding Dirge falling and crashing violently on the ground below them, which they were also falling towards. But whatever had them slammed down right on top of Dirge, bracing them so they wouldn't be injured.

With a suck of hopeful air, both looked up, expecting to see Jetfire having rescued them. They could feel their hope just rising up higher when they saw the burning eyes of a Decepticon Seeker. They recalled that Jetfire's eyes had been red too.

But it wasn't.

Anna felt her heart clench in her chest as she looked up at their somewhat savior and new captor. She could feel her body growing cold as she stared up at the insane burning eyes glaring down at her. That was a look she never wanted to have seen again but was being forced to see it, to relive it.

"Mas-Master Sta-Starscream." Anna whimpered and she heard Spike suck in a startled breath.

Starscream growled as he glared down at Anna and Spike within his claws before he raised them up to his eye line and narrowed his glare at them. He did not look too happy one bit. "Anna, you wretched, pitspawn scrap of flesh of a slave!" He snarled viciously at her. "What the frag have you done? I have it in the right processor to crush you all of life!"

Tears sprang to Anna's eyes as she looked up at her former master with fear before swallowing the hard lump within her throat. "I….I'm…..I'm so-sorry! It…..it wasn't my fault! It was Reavers! They attacked and…..I was attacked…..and….." She was stumbling over her words, trying to ease Starscream's rage at her.

"That is not what I'm talking about! And you fragging well know it!" Starscream snarled at her, causing her to flinch. "I'm talking about that fragging SOS and bringing the fragging Autobots here! How dare you betray me like that! How dare you bring those pitspawn here! What were you thinking? Why did you do that?"

Anna flinched away from him before her face set into stone as she looked right up at him with as much bravery as she could muster. She was so tired of this. She was so tired of being afraid of him and showing it. It was time to stop it. "If you were the frightened slave, you would have done the exact same thing as I did, Starscream." She said as coldly as she could.

Either way, it sure surprised Starscream. His eyes widened at the boldness that came right out of Anna's mouth. He couldn't believe she had even talked to him like that. He was used to her being terrified of him. Always saying, 'Yes, Master' or just keeping her mouth shut. But this….this creature he held in his claws, she was much different from what he was used to. He knew that Anna had changed over the past month of her freedom. Something had happened to make her change. Something had caused her to become braver. Bolder. Not being afraid of him.

And for some reason….He liked the new change in Anna.

"Hey! Asshole! Let us go!" Spike suddenly snapped.

Starscream blinked before turning Anna over to look at Spike with them still trapped in Dirge's restraints. He looked very surprised to see him. It was like he hadn't even noticed him strapped to Anna. But there was something oddly familiar about this boy. He reminded him of Megatron's lost slave, Sam Witwicky.

But the boy was too young to be Sam Witwicky.

Silently running diagnostics on the boy's very features, Starscream soon learned of the similarities and his eyes lit up with surprise. "You….." He muttered. A slow sinister grin spread out on Starscream's face before he shook his head. "You are the spawn of that wretched human that started all of this. You are the offspring of Sam Witwicky."

It only took Anna and Spike tensing up to confirm that.

It only caused Starscream to slowly grin before he tightened his grip around both of the teens. He knew what to do with the boy. "Looks like I have something to bargain with after all." He sneered.

"No." Anna breathed in horror, knowing already what her former master had in mind. She knew what Starscream was going to do with Spike and she refused to let it. She would not let him do that to her younger friend.

But before she could make her protests, Starscream's head suddenly jerked up as if he heard something and it did not take long to find out what he was looking for.

There were the whup, whup, whups of helicopter blades in the air and the revs of roaring engines approaching their general area. They could see a few cars speeding towards them along with a helicopter right above them. And Anna recognized each and every one of them. It was Barricade, his Race Track squad and Obsidian.

As it was, Starscream was not pleased to see any one of them. Obsidian, especially. He did not want to deal with that bossy piece of scrap right now. Not after he had found Anna and his new bargaining chip.

"Starscream!" Obsidian called as he transformed and landed heavily on the ground near the Seeker Leader. He was eyeing the motionless Dirge with alarm. "What happened to Dirge? Autobots?"

Frowning, Anna and Spike looked away from all of the Decepticons to look at their original kidnapper. They froze in horror to see what had happened to him. He was still in semi transformation mode, between his bipedal and jet form. But his wings were horribly torn and twisted and his fuselage was ripped to shreds. There were trails of Energon fluid flowing out of the gashes in his metal frame. His eyes were no longer glowing and there was no sound coming out of him.

It was clear that he was dead.

Starscream merely looked at the now scrapped Decepticon before he lazily looked back at Obsidian, Barricade and the Race Track team. He did not look surprised, or worried about the state that his fellow Decepticon was in. "No. I did that to him." He admitted.

All of the other Decepticons stiffened and looked at him with alarm. They couldn't believe that Starscream had admitted something like that. That he had slaughtered a fellow Decepticon. It was so unbelievable.

"You?" Obsidian demanded, now quite angry. It was due to the face that Dirge was one of his own team members and they had been close to one another. "Explain yourself, Starscream! Why did you destroy him?"

Growling viciously, Starscream held Anna and Spike closer to his chest, as if he was protecting them from whatever was about to happen. He was not amused that he was being demanded of any explanation. "I do not have to explain myself to you, Obsidian! I am the highest ranked Decepticon here! And one day, I will become your leader! I will be the one in charge of the entire Decepticon army! If you do not watch yourself with me, I will deactivate you!" He snarled at the other.

Obsidian glared hard at him but slowly shook his head. He did not look happy at all. But he knew that Starscream was right in a way. He was the higher ranked Decepticon. For now. But if only he knew what he, himself knew. "Starscream, I did not mean to anger you. But I do have Lord Megatron awaiting my report. What should I tell him of Dirge?" He asked calmly.

Starscream just snorted as he narrowed his eyes dangerously. "Tell him that Dirge was threatening me because he was an idiot. But if you tell Megatron of my slaves, I will….." He was saying.

It was right at that moment a piercing transmission came in, causing the Seeker Leader to flinch. It was due to the fact that it was Megatron and he was already speaking in a very loud voice before he could say anything else.

"STARSCREAM! BRING ME YOUR WRETCHED SLAVES TO ME! NOW!"

Again, Starscream flinched before he turned a vicious glare onto Obsidian, who did look a little smug about it. It was obvious now that the Decepticon General had Megatron on an open channel as they were speaking. So he had heard and probably seen everything. The already dislike for Obsidian only magnetized even higher. He felt a burning hate for him and wished that a meteor would suddenly come crashing down right on top of his scrap metal head. He wanted to refuse to bring Anna to Megatron. He knew what would happen to her if he took her to him. But it wasn't like he couldn't refuse now that the ever so great Leader with a lot of sarcasm knew that he had Anna and the boy in his possession. He knew that if he tried, he would be painting a huge target sign right on his chest and it would be open season on himself by his fellow Decepticons. "I hear you, Almighty Lord Megatron, and I shall obey. I will be there immediately." He said as calmly as he could.

"GOOD! AND WE WILL DISCUSS THE DESTRUCTION OF DIRGE LATER! NOW GET HERE!" Megatron snarled through the transmission before he roughly cut it.

For a good solid moment, Starscream stood there with an angered look on his metal face before he turned a vicious glare onto Obsidian, who did not waver. "You son of a glitch, Obsidian. One of these days, I will rip you to pieces." He hissed before he blasted off into the air. He did a quick transformation as he tossed Anna and Spike into his cockpit.

It was very unfortunate to say, it was a rather tight fit for both Anna and Spike. Once again, they found their selves squished against one another. Both yelped as they tried to rearrange their selves into a more comfortable position and it ended up with Spike sitting on Anna's lap, since he was a little smaller than she was.

"So…..we're in trouble again, aren't we?" Spike groaned as he had to tilt his head painfully to keep it from banging against the plated glass.

"Can't…..lie….but…..yeah." Anna said as she had to deal with his weight. He wasn't exactly the most lightest person either.

"ARGHH!" came the most horrible sound through out the entire camp, making more than half of the people in it wince or jump. They ended up doing it again when there came a loud crash as something was thrown against something else. It sounded like glass. "FUCK! This can't be happening! Not again! Not Annabelle! GOD DAMN IT!"

Everyone was standing around outside their tents, looking off in the direction where Will was grabbing anything in his general eye sight and throwing it against the cliffs. No one could blame him for his reaction. No one could blame him for the pain and despair and the anger that he was feeling. They had all known that something was wrong the moment that the DATAR and the Autobots returned from their mission. They had seen and felt the grief as the returning party approached.

Mikaela had been the first to hurry over to greet everyone, wanting to see her son and Sam. She had been worrying about them all night while they had been out. But seeing the looks on everyone's faces, she knew that something had happened. Something bad.

Even the Autobots who had stayed behind to guard the camp knew something bad had happened. They could feel it through their links to one another. And they had questioned the other Autobots about it. And learned of Cheetor's demise. It truly upset everyone to learn that the young Autobot was destroyed by Dirge.

Everyone was now watching as Will took his anger out on several of the supplies and raged on with his terrible despair while Mikaela was sobbing hard in Sam's arms after learning what happened to her son. Everyone felt the horrible pain as they watched the grief and suffering that all three were feeling.

All but Ratchet and Red Alert, who were off to the side. They had been checking Cheetor's remains, trying to find the single spark that told them that if he were still alive. But it was hopeless. The Maximal was dead.

"Will! Stop it!" Maggie finally shouted now having grown tired of watching her friend destroying things. She hurried over with Epps, trying to stop Will from hurting himself or someone else.

Will just whirled around, throwing a jar of pickles against the cliff walls and watching it shatter everywhere. He tried to grab something else but ended up tripping over his own feet and crashing to the ground. His eyes were horribly red and his cheeks were stained with tears. He howled with the worst agonizing sound that he could even muster as he ran his fingers through his hair, gripping and pulling it soon enough. "GOD! WHY? WHY ANNA? WHY MY BABY GIRL! PLEASE DON'T DO THIS TO ME! I JUST GOT HER BACK! I JUST GOT HER BACK! I CAN'T LOSE HER AGAIN!" He roared up into the morning sky.

Epps quickly dropped down beside his best friend and wrapped his arms around him, trying to keep him from hurting himself or anything. He knew how horrible his friend was feeling. He could almost feel the same pain that Will was feeling. "Dude, Will! I swear to God! We will get her back! We will save her before those god damned Decepticons hurt her!" He had to shout of the agony of his friend. He paused to glance over at Sam and Mikaela who were both sobbing hard. "And Spike! We will save them both! We are not going to let those Cons hurt them! They will not get away with this!"

"He is correct." Optimus Prime spoke up as he stood over all of the humans, looking down at them with softness yet grave. There was such an air of seriousness about him that it almost made everyone shudder. "We will not allow Megatron or the Decepticons harm the children. We will stop them before they do."

Will looked up at him with pain, yet slight anger. "How do you fucking know that, Optimus? What if they hurt my baby girl and Spike already?" He asked, his voice breaking viciously.

It was Jetfire who shook his head and spoke up from the side lines. He had been silent the entire time that everyone almost forgot that he was there. "Because if I know Megatron the most, which I do, he will not harm her or Spike until he makes it public. He will want to show the humans what happens when they rebel against them. He will want to prove something. I know for a fact that he will try and humiliate Anna or even Spike before giving them death." He said to them. "More than likely, he will do it at the Cyber Games Arena."

"That is if Starscream doesn't try and fight for Anna first." Alice spoke up from where she was standing against a tree.

Everyone looked at her in surprised but did not believe her words. They couldn't believe it for a second that Starscream would ever try and protect Anna, even though the Pretender was trying to reassure that he would.

"What the hell are you talking about? Why the hell would he stand up for a human?" Mikaela asked, wiping her soaked cheeks.

Alice shook her head as she looked over at her before looking around at everyone with a blank stare. "Believe it or not, Starscream cares does care about Anna. He doesn't show it in the way that you, humans would. But he does. None of you have ever seen him with her. He might have treated her poorly but that was to protect her and himself from his fellow Decepticons. She is not just his property. She is something more than that." She tried to reassure everyone.

Still, no one looked convinced. To think that a Decepticon like Starscream cared about a human, it was completely and deniably insane.

"Are you fragging kidding me?" It was Sunstreaker to ask very skeptically as he eyed the former Decepticon Pretender with dislike. "Starscream is one of the worst Decepticons there is among all of those aftpipes! He don't give a slag about anyone but himself!"

Alice shook her head as she looked up at him with another blank look. "That may be true at the most part. But with Anna," She shook her head again. "He hides his feelings for her for a very good reason. He has enemies among the Decepticons. If anyone he hates or that hates him finds out just how much he truly cares for her, they will hurt her to hurt him." She said dryly.

"Bullslag." Sideswipe said, standing up with his twin.

"Actually," Epps said very slowly now looking very thoughtful. He looked as if something was dawning on him that he would have never thought of before. "I believe her."

"What?" Maggie asked, just as surprised as everyone.

Epps slowly shook his head as he kept his eyes thoughtfully away from everyone. "Anna kind of told me about her relationship with Starscream. She said something things that don't make sense but kind of do. What she said, is sounded like Starscream was trying to be her father or something. He protected her from Reavers. He taught her how to fight. So maybe he does care about her in his own twisted way. I mean, come on. Who can't like her? She's sweet, she's feisty and she is a kid. What if Starscream really will do what he can to protect her?" He asked, looking around at everyone.

No one could say anything to that. They were all just surprised to hear the fact that Starscream might have liked Anna enough to want to protect her. It was unbelievable but maybe it was true.

"Either way," Optimus Prime spoke up, finally looking towards one of his Autobots, the small one called Blaster. "We are going to end this war on Earth. One way or another. It's time we did something about the treatment of this planet. And we will save Anna and Spike. Blaster, contact Teletraan One on the Ark. I believe its time to bring in reinforcements."

Blaster nodded as he reached up and tapped his forehead. His eyes began to glow a little brighter as if he was doing something. "Yes, Optimus Prime, sir. How many should I request Ultra Magnus to send here?" He asked the Autobot Leader.

Optimus Prime just shook his head, still looking very serious. "Tell him to bring the Ark. I want everyone down here, ready to fight. We are going to end this enslavement of Earth, once and for all." He said very deeply.

Blaster just nodded before he began clicking and beeping at something that no one could hear. No one bothered to even listen. They were just surprised to learn that all of the Autobots that were still out into space would be coming to liberate Earth. It was almost too exciting. Even as Optimus Prime had made his orders clear, they felt hope starting to rise up out of the ashes of their crumbled hearts.

"Hey! I got an idea that might help!"

Everyone blinked in surprise before they all turned to see Hound walking over towards them and looking quite perplexed to why in the world he was carrying Simmons and, very surprisingly, the Decepticon drone, Wheelie. It surprised all to see the Decepticon no longer chained up and just sitting casually next to Simmons, who looked cleaned up. He had shaven off all of the hair on his face and even cut his hair very short. He looked a lot younger than before, but still worn out from his self-lack of esteem for what he had done to the Earth. He was even wearing clean clothes again; worn black pants and an even worn out shirt.

But what surprised everyone the most was the fact that he had legs dangling over the edge of Hound's hand.

"What the fuck?" Epps asked completely bewildered. "Where the hell did you get those? I thought you didn't haven any legs!"

Simmons gave him a very dry and not so amused look as he reached down and yanked his right pants leg up. It just alarmed everyone to see that he now had metallic prosthetic legs. "Doctor Robot and this guy built these for me. Said that they felt sorry for me that I couldn't walk any more. Believe me, I'm still trying to get used to them. But either way, sometime I'll be walking on my own and I won't need these guy carrying me around." He said in a worn way.

Slowly everyone nodded and some had to smile as they looked to where Ratchet was still bent over someone else. He seemed to be ignoring them completely as he was working on his new patient.

"Okay. So why the hell is that thing out then?" Maggie asked, nodding towards Wheelie.

"Hey, busty blondie! I gotta name, al'ight?" Wheelie exclaimed quite offended.

"Hound?" Optimus Prime asked, ignoring the small Decepticon. He looked just as surprised as everyone else but definitely more calm than everyone was being right now. "What happened?"

Hound, still quite bewildered shook his head before he raised his other hand and opened it to reveal the shattered form of Frenzy. It was no doubt that the other Decepticon was dead. "He insisted on talking to you, sir. I was helping Simmons here, walking around and Frenzy some how broke loose from his chains. He must have felt the destruction of Soundwave and he just flipped out. He tried to attack Simmons, going on about how he was going to kill every single human here. He was going to save Mikaela and Spike for last though. Making them suffer the worst." He stated in a reporting way.

"Okay. So why is that little freak out then?" Glenn asked eyeing Wheelie with discomfort.

Shooting him a dark look, Wheelie raised up onto his tri-wheeled feet and pointed a finger at him. "Hey! I'm not a freak, got that? My name is Wheelie! Get it memorized, tubby!" He then shook his head. "And I'm the one who whacked Frenzy, got that? He was going to hurt the Warrior Goddess and the Warrior Kid! I wasn't going to let that happen!" he exclaimed.

"Warrior Goddess and Warrior Kid?" Maggie asked, completely stunned yet amused.

Scoffing, Mikaela shook her head as she folded her arms. There was a slight embarrassed blush on her face as she glanced at Carly next to her. "It's what he's been calling me and Spike. I don't know why. Maybe it's because I'm the one who caught his ass from trying to hurt my son!" She snapped the last bit, glaring up at Wheelie.

Wheelie just held up his hands and shook his rectangle shaped head. "Hey, hey, Warrior Goddess! I was just following orders! 'Sides, I'm done with that! I don't wanna work for the Decepticons any more! Do you know how bad they've treated me? And any drone alive? We get treated like…..like…..like freaking humans! And I heard what happened to the Warrior Kid, Spike! Frag that! I ain't going to let something happen to him! He's been nothing but nice to me! He talked to me, listened to me! He even called me by name! I don't want him to get whacked by all of these damn Decepticons!" He ranted.

"Mech, you are a Decepticon." Jazz remarked, though he kept glancing off away from the small Decepticon to where the newly arrived humans were. No one could be sure who he was looking at but there was one of them that seemed to have interested him.

"Not any more! Just freaking said I don't want to be a Decepticon anymore! Clean out your ears, shorty!" Wheelie exclaimed.

"Hey!" Jazz snapped now quite irritated and glaring at the smaller robot. "You're smaller than me, mech! Don't you be calling me shorty!"

"Jazz." Optimus Prime sighed, shaking his head. He looked over at Wheelie then. "Wheelie, then. What is your intentions then?"

Wheelie looked up at the huge Autobot Leader and shrugged. "I wanna be an Autobot! I wanna help save Spike! Come on! I can help! I might be a freaking useless drone but I can help out! Can I be an Autobot? Can I? Can I? Can I?" He went on and on.

A few irritated growls from the other Autobots cut him short but Optimus Prime made an amused sound and shook his head as he studied the small drone. He was definitely amused by now. "Very well then. Welcome to the Autobots, Wheelie. Now, for starters, do you know where Dirge has taken Annabelle and Spike?" he asked calmly.

Wheelie nodded very quickly that his head nearly turned into a blur. "Of course! All the Decepticons had it under orders that if they captured the girl, Anna, we're suppose to take her to Megatron himself! That, or call for Spy Changers! Megatron wanted her brought to him so that he could humiliate her and punish her, himself! I know for a fact that he was planning a public thing! He might even shove her into the Cyber Games Arena to face off those damn Reavers or even some of the Pretenders!" he stated quickly.

A sob of grief could not be helped as it escaped Will, making his head lower. But Ironhide growled in rage as he stomped forward, his brilliant blue eyes starting to flicker red. He was not happy to hear what was planned for Anna, just like no one was. "Over my deactivated and rusted body is he going to hurt her!" He growled viciously.

Quite a few people and Autobots looked at the large black Autobot with surprise but Jetfire just snorted as if he found something extremely amusing. He looked lazily at the Weapons Specialist and shook his head as he folded his hands onto his large walking cane. "Heh. I knew it. You claimed Guardianship over the girl, didn't you? And her father? Didn't you?" He asked in a very taunting way.

Growling impatiently and shooting the so called Decepticon Seeker a dark look, Ironhide threw his large hands up into the air and rolled his eyes. "Oh, for the love of…! Fine! You fragging win, Jetfire! I claim Guardianship over Anna and Will Lennox! Are you fragging happy now that I admitted it?" He snarled.

"Yup!" Jetfire said almost in a singsong way, even while everyone looked surprised. And a few didn't. They had figured that it was going to happen sooner or later with Ironhide. No one hadn't missed the way he was constantly watching Anna or Will the past few days. So it was bound to happen.

"Guardianship?" Epps asked questionable. "Okay. Remind me what that is again."

Ironhide looked right at him as he folded his large arms and shook his head. "It means I'm going to protect Anna and Will for the rest of their lives, even if it fragging well kills me. I failed already to protect Anna but I ain't gonna do it again. I'm going to storm to wherever she's been kept and rescue her and then I'm going to tear whoever threatens her to pieces!" He growled before shooting a dark look over at Wheelie. "Where'd they take her and the kid, drone?"

Wheelie gave him a dry, irritated look as his shoulders slouched but he shook his head. "It's Wheelie, Ironaft. And it's more'n likely that Dirge took them to Megatron's fortress in New York City." He said ignoring Ironhide's vicious growl. "But you're all gonna have a tough time getting into that city. It's crawling with Decepticons. Not to mention Reavers."

Most of everyone shuddered once again at the very word, Reavers. They hated to hear or even think about the Reavers. They hated how vile and blood thirsty they had become.

"So…..wh-what are we….wai…..waiting for?" Someone very weak was asking. "Let's go….save her."

Many heads turned towards Ratchet, looking at his patient as he was trying to stand up while the medicbot had been listening in now to what was being said. No one was really surprised to see that it was the new injured guy, Luc but they were surprised that he was defying Ratchet's orders and trying to get up.

Ratchet whirled around and glared down at Luc, growling in irritation. "What did I just tell you? I told you don't move! You're going to tear open the stitching! What do you have, a death wish? You've already bled enough!" He barked, now trying to make Luc lay back down on a make shift berth.

Luc was panting in exhaustion and pain but he continued trying to get back up, wanting to ignore Ratchet fretting over him. "I….I am fine. I don't nee-need to be lying on this…..go-god forsaken…..be-bed when I ca-can be out there….hel-helping to save…..Anna." He said weakly.

"Dude, take it from me. You do not want to be ignoring Ratchet's orders." Jazz warned him with a raised metal shutter. "You ignore him, you're going to be regretting it. He will not hesitate to tying you down to that bed just to make you get better." And then he was looking away from everyone towards the new humans again. Only this time, he grinned smoothly and pointed at one of the new humans. "Hey! I can't help it any more! What's your name? No. Not you. Not you. No! Definitely not you! Yes! You! What's your name?"

"Uh…" The young woman he had been pointing at muttered quite bewildered. "My name? It's Kaleia."

Jazz then grinned at her before he offered a smooth wink at her. "Well, hi there, Kaleia. The name's Jazz. Whatchya doing later tonight? Wanna go for a drive? Just the two of us?" He asked in a flirtatious way.

There was several bangs of metal as many Autobots groaned and slapped their hands to their heads. It was so like the care free Jazz to start flirting with girls, even at a terrible time like this. And it probably did not help Jazz's already huge ego that the young woman, Kaleia was smiling as she looked the Autobot over and was actually looking interested in him.

"Oh, for the love of Primus. Jazz, will you can it for now? Flirt with the human lady later! We got more important things to worry about! Like saving Anna and Spike!" Ironhide growled, giving the smaller Autobot a look. And earning a shrug from Jazz as if asking what he did wrong.

"What's the plan? How are we going to go save my daughter then?" Will asked, now growing serious again.

"Well, for starters. I got an idea." Simmons spoke up again. "And it deals with paying that son of a bitch, Starscream a visit."


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: There is a really bad racial word in this chapter. Please do not think I am racist for putting it in the story. Because I am not. I actually hate this word with a passion but I know some racial a*holes use it. In real life, if I hear someone say it, I tend to blow up on the person. I don't even like music that has this word. I hate those songs and refuse to listen to them. It's in there because one of the characters I have used represents some of the people I know and loathe. I am saying this now because I have recieved some fire for having that word in my story and I have been called raciest. I'm just warning you now that I am not raciest. It's just a part of the story and of a character. That's all.

This was turning into a nightmare, both Anna and Spike were realizing as Starscream was approaching Megatron's twisted and dark fortress. They had looked out his plated glass, down at all of the many Decepticons down below them. They were moving towards the fortress, probably after learning word that the one human that could have been their downfall had been captured. They were probably wanting to find out what her fate would be. Many had looked up at Starscream as he flew over head and cheered as he went by.

However, the Seeker Leader completely ignored them as he flew directly towards the mouth of Megatron's monstrous lair. Just by looking at it scared the two teens, though this was not Anna's first visit there. It looked more like a huge demonic, robot head lying on the torn and ripped up streets of New York City. The entrance looked like a fanged mouth ready to engulf them and Starscream.

As it was for Starscream, both of the teens could feel right through his seat and through his cockpit that he was entirely stiff. He had not said a word, though Anna had been expecting him to start threatening her at any time. She had been expecting that he would have yelled at her, threatening to harm her for what she had done.

But he had kept his silence and she wasn't so sure that was a good thing.

Finally swooping through the fortresse's gaping mouth, Starscream flew through the huge main chamber until he entered Megatron's dark and dreary court room. It was there the Decepticon Leader, himself was waiting for him on his dark throne of twisted metal. His very expression was dark and twisted and there was a looked of malice on his face. He was not happy, that was easy to say.

Even Starscream had hesitated as he landed in the middle of the court room and transformed. He kept Anna and Spike squished inside his cockpit though, much to their dislike. They couldn't be sure why. All he did was bow down to one knee and kept his head held down. "Great and Powerful Lord Mega….." he was saying.

"Save it, Starscream!" Megatron snarled, getting to his feet and starting to clamber forward. "I don't want to hear your aft kissing remarks right now! Show me the humans!"

Anna and Spike felt their hearts clench with fear as they realized that this was it. They were about to look at the face of their Deaths. They were going to face Megatron and probably die right there and then.

But…Starscream had hesitated, looking up at Megatron almost with surprise. "My Lord and Master, I just thought that you…" he was saying. It was very obvious that he was trying to stall for time.

And that seemed to have been enough for Megatron to get pissed off again. He growled fiercely before he lashed out at the Decepticon Seeker and roughly grabbed him by the throat. He did not even hold back as he swung him around and slammed him against the curved and sharp wall, earning a squeal of pain and fear from Starscream. Even Anna and Spike had gasped and yelped in alarm as they were thrown around inside the cockpit.

"Show me the fragging humans or I will rip out your vocal processor, you pitiful piece of scrap!" Megatron snarled, now digging his claws into Starscream's neck.

With a slight whimper of pain, Starscream had placed a hand over his chest where Anna and Spike remained and held it there as if he was going to try and protect them. But after a moment, he drew his hand away and allowed the plated glass to slide upwards before he reached in and grabbed both teens, ignoring their squeaks of fear. He held them up in separate hands before Megatron, almost looking pained but doing his best to hide it. "My Lord Megatron, I present you the presense of my slave, Anna and the offspring of Sam Witwicky. I have brought this boy as a bargain for the life of my sla….." He was saying.

But that seemed to have been the wrong thing to have said because Megatron's eyes flashed dangerously before he snarled. "BARGAIN? THERE WILL BE NO BARGAINING, YOU WORM!" He roared before he violently threw Starscream to the side.

Starscream barely had time to draw Anna and Spike close to his chest, cupping them safely against it as he was thrown across the ground. They felt the horrible bangs as he hit the ground and even was tossed against each metal sides. It was only fortunate that the Seeker had braced them against his chest to keep them from being injured. He nearly had no time at all to quickly set them down as he scampered backwards away from them as Megatron came at them again.

"WHOA!" Both Anna and Spike gasped as they scampered to the side as Megatron very well nearly stepped on them as he went for Starscream. They could only grasp each other and watch in horror as the Decepticon Leader viciously kicked the Seeker, sending him spinning across the ground and earning the worst sound that Anna had ever heard. She had never ever heard her former Decepticon Master sound so much in pain before and it horrified her as he held onto Spike.

"You worthless, incompetent, failing idiot! I should tear your fragging head right off your fragging body and throw it into what's left of the Earth's oceans where it would rust within the salt water!" Megatron roared as he continued beating on Starscream. He kicked his Second Command hard in the side, sending him flying onto his back before he stomped very hard onto one of his wings and grabbed the end of it. Without any effort, he viciously bent it upward, earning a scream of pain from Starscream. "Bargain for your fragging slave? You should be more worried about your worthless self, you whimpering, traitorous scrap heap! I had ordered Dirge to bring me those humans and you destroyed him, trying to defy me! I will rip you to pieces!"

Lashing out again, Megatron grabbed Starscream's flailing arm and began yanking it very hard as if trying to rip it off.

Both Anna and Spike could only watch in terror and alarm as they watched Megatron trying to harm Starscream. They couldn't believe how he was doing this to his very own Second In Command. All Anna's life, she had feard and hated her Decepticon Master, had been tortured and abused by him. She had been threatened more times than she could count. But never had she seen him getting beaten like this. All for what? Because of her?

In all honesty, watching Starscream, the one she had hated and feared most of her life, get beaten, Anna just could not take it. She couldn't stand this. She couldn't take it. She just felt something snap within her. She couldn't get the images out of her head, memories with her former Decepticon Master.

She remembered him watching her mother trying to teach her how to walk as a toddler, which came as a surprise that she did remember.

She remembered the soft look in his eyes as her mother had played with her as a young one.

She remembered how he had come to save her from the Reavers when they had attacked her.

And how he had come into her room when she had her nightmares and tried to comfort her. She remembered sleeping in his claws as he watched over her.

The memory of Starscream and Judy have a screaming match at one another and making her and Jesse laugh.

And those few times where he did smile at her when something funny had happened. Showing his amusement with whatever it had been. When she had laughed when Judy scowled at him, screamed at him and just fought with him about the stupidest things.

There had been plenty of bad memories but it was those good memories that forced their selves to surface her twirling mind. She felt her face reddening with rage as she watched Megatron attempting to rip Starscream's out of its metal socket, already causing sparks to fly and making him scream in pain.

Anna caught a glint of something from the corner of her eyes and she looked to see a shard of metal, one that probably had been clawed out of Starscream while Megatron was beating on him. She gritted her teeth tightly before lunging away from Spike, earning a surprised gasp from him. She heard him cry out her name but ignored him as she snatched up the butcher knife sized shard.

"STOP IT, YOU MOTHER FUCKER! LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Anna screamed, glaring up at Megatron.

It worked.

All activity stopped abruptly with Megatron still gripping Starscream's arm but he had whirled around and looked down at her in surprise and anger. Even Starscream had stopped screaming from pain just to look at her in surprise. Spike even was watching with shock at Anna's sudden scream. They all just stared at her, leaving only heaving and sparking sounds echoing throughout the entire chamber.

But after a moment, Megatron growled before he viciously threw Starscream's arm down and stomped towards Anna, who stepped back but kept a fearful but fierce look on her face. "What the frag did you just say to me, you disgusting piece of flesh?" He demanded, towering over her.

Deep within, Anna was trembling with fear but she did all she could to maintain a vicious glare aimed right up at him. She gripped the metal shard so tightly that she felt the edges starting to cut into her skin. She ignored it though. "I said leave him the fuck alone, you mother fucker!" She hissed through gritted teeth.

"HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO ME IN SUCH A WAY! YOU DARE TO DEMAND ME OF ANYTHING?" Megatron roared down at her as he slightly bent down but made no threatening move at her.

"You fucking got that right! Touch him again and I'll…..!" Anna started to snap.

Megatron snarled, raising a hand as if to bat her viciously across the room but held his hand. "You'll do what? If you hadn't noticed, I am the superior being here! I could crush you…!" He was snarling but stopped when Anna did something that no one, not even himself could believe she would do.

Anna quickly held up the sharp metal against her throat, as if threatening to slash open her own neck and end her life right then and there. The burning rage and hate was still glaring through her eyes up at him. "You touch him again and I swear to Primus, himself that I will cut my own throat and you will not ever have the pleasure of killing me, yourself!" She threatened.

"Anna!" Starscream had shouted, pushing himself to his side and looking at her with wide eyes. He had not been the only one to shout out her name. Spike had shouted right along with him, looking stunned that she would say something like that.

But Megatron just narrowed his burning eyes at her, looking quite taken aback. He couldn't believe that this human was threatening to end her own life. If it were anyone else, he couldn't have cared less. But it was her, the girl who had brought the Autobots to Earth, had endangered him and his Decepticons. He wanted to make her suffer. He wanted to humiliate her. He wanted to KILL her! But if she cut her own throat, he would not have that pleasure.

One thing was for sure, this act had surprised him. It had bewildered him.

This small creature was threatening her own life to save the one that she had feared and hated all her life. He knew that she had. But she was trying to save Starscream from him. But…..why? Why was trying to save him?

"Why are you protecting him? Why defend your master, even after all that he had done to you?" Megatron had to ask, not even hiding the fact that he was bewildered.

Anna, her hand slightly trembling as she held the metal to her throat, just glared up at him and shook her head. She wasn't even sure why she was doing this, herself. But there was only one thing that she could say. "I am not a slave. Starscream is not my master. I am a free human. I am a DATAR member. I refuse to be a slave!" She shook her head again, still gritting her teeth. "I hate him! Don't you fucking dare get that wrong! He has done so much shit to me that I could never forgive him for!" She paused to look over at Starscream, who was stalk still with surprise. "But he also was there, protecting me. In his own twisted way. I didn't ever realize it until recently. He was always there protecting me from his own enemies. He protected me from the Reavers. He taught me how to survive, how to fight. If it wasn't for him, I would have died a long time ago." She spoke the truth and felt that it was the right thing to say. She flicked her glare back at Megatron, shaking her head once again. "I hate him but I also swear that I will protect him. If you hurt him one more time, I will kill myself and you will not see me suffer like you really want me to. I swear to Primus."

There was a very long silence within the entire chamber. No one could say anything but stare at this human girl with shock and alarm. Never had they heard a human threaten her or his own life to protect a Decepticon as vile as Starscream. But she was doing it. She was protecting him with her own life.

"Why, Anna?" Starscream suddenly murmured, not understanding at all. "Why are you doing this…? For me?"

Anna glanced at him before shaking her head. "I just told you why, Starscream. You protected me and even though I hate you for what you did to my mother, to Pete, to Jesse, I will protect you. I will breathe my last breath before I let him or any of the other Decepticons hurt you. I agree with you." She turned her glare back onto Megatron. "I think you'd make a better Decepticon Leader than this asshole." She shot at the Decepticon Leader.

Megatron growled again, shooting Starscream a dark look before he glared back down at Anna. He was trying to penetrate her strong will with his vicious look but for some reason, she wasn't wavering.

With a snort, the Decepticon Leader stood up straight, still looking down at her. He looked more amused than he had just moments ago. "Well, well." He huffed, not hiding the amusement. "Starscream, your slave is a whole lot braver than you are. She would make an excellent Decepticon if she wasn't made of flesh." His amusement faded again, glowering down at Anna. "Still, I swore to myself that I would make you suffer for what you have done. And suffer you will. Tomorrow at Earth Noon, you will fight for your life and your will suffer. I will see you breathe your last breath, unless you can survive what I have thrown at you. But for now, Starscream, you will live for now. It is not the will of this pathetic human that makes me decide." He growled towards his Second In Command. "It is fortunately for you that you still have uses to me."

Everyone knew that was a lie but no one called Megatron on it.

Starscream, painfully, climbed to his feet but was still looking at Anna with surprise for what she had done. He watched her as she slowly lowered the metal shard and let it fall to the ground. He still couldn't believe she had done that for him. After all he had done to her and her loved ones. She risked her own life to save his. Even though she would be dying the next day in the worst way.

"What of her and the boy?" Starscream found himself ask, though it sounded more like he was talking in his recharge. He was still too dazed by what had just happened.

Megatron was silent for a moment as he looked at Anna and then looked over at Spike, looking him over. He studied both of them with almost malcontent before smirking. "The girl can go to the Pits. I like how feisty she has become. But it will not benefit me in anyway. Let's see if she can survive one day and night among those savages." He confirmed his orders.

Anna had frowned at the mentioning of the Pits. She had heard of them, of course. She had some stories that it was where unclaimed human warriors who fought in the Cyber Games were kept. They were the best and the worst of humans who fought for the entertainment of the Decepticons, fighting for their lives and for their value to the Cons.

But seeing the look on Starscream's face made her feel uneasy.

Starscream had stiffened with a look of horror on his face as he looked at the Decepticon Leader. It was like that was the worst thing that his Leader could have said. "The Pits, my Lord? But, she will not surv…..!" He was trying to protest.

Snarling at Starscream into silence, Megatron whirled around to glare at him. "Are you going to question my decision again, Starscream? Even after this pathetic creature threatened herself for your life? Are you going to make her demands vain?" He snarled.

Immediately, the Seeker shut up, turning his fiery red eyes away. He did not dare to say anything else after that.

"The human slave of yours will go to the Pits. But stop worrying about her, Starscream." Growled Megatron. "She will survive the night. I will have Barricade make it very clear that if any of those pitspawn harm her, they will suffer worst than she will." He then looked down at Spike, who cringed under his glare. "As for the boy, since he is the spawn of my former, pathetic slave, I will replace him as my slave." He said with a sneer.

"NO!" Anna suddenly cried out now spinning around to hurry back over to an alarmed Spike's side.

But before she could even get far, Megatron lashed out and caught her around the waist, yanking her up into the air before he lashed out and caught Spike with his other hand. "Shut up, human girl! I will spare Starscream's life but the boy's is mine! Say one more word and I will harm the boy right here, in front of you! You will watch him suffer next!" He snarled at her.

Anna bit her lip hard to keep her sharp retort back. She knew that he would make Spike suffer in front of her. He was that cruel. "Please, don't hurt him." She begged, pleading him.

Megatron snorted sharply before he sharply glanced to the side as there came the stomps of approaching Decepticons. It was Barricade who had entered. He, his Race Track team and Obsidian had returned shortly just after Starscream had. The Decepticon police cruiser had been silently summoned by the Decepticon Leader the moment he had stepped into the fortress. "Barricade, take this girl to the Pits! She is to be isolated and left alone! If one of those pitspawn down there touches her while under your guard! You will pay the consequences! She will rest and be ready to fight to the death for tomorrow's reopening of the Cyber Games Arena! Do I make myself clear?"

Barricade quickly dipped his head down as he approached Megatron, who held Anna out towards him. "Yes, Mighty Megatron. I will guard her and make sure she is not harmed." He told him, looking ready to snatch Anna right out of the Decepticon Leader's hand and probably Con-handle her.

"And if she's hurt by you," Megatron growled, not relinquishing Anna just yet. He was giving the Decepticon police cruiser a vicious, warning look. "You will join her in the arena as one to be destroyed."

That had Barricade stiffen but he slowly nodded and gently took Anna from him. "Yes, Lord Megatron." He said, choosing his words carefully. He turned to start leaving, even with a sobbing and struggling Anna within his claws.

"Wait!" Megatron suddenly barked.

Barricade quickly halted and turned back around to look at him with puzzlement. "My Lord?" He asked, frowning.

Megatron sneered towards Anna before he looked over at Spike with the same sneer. There was major trouble within that look. It had both teens freezing with horror as they realized that it meant trouble. "I didn't say you could leave yet. I have yet to mark the boy. And I would rather she watched it happen. Scalpel!" He suddenly barked.

Anna's face twisted into horror and she shook her head, pounding her fists against Barricade's hand and earning a warning growl from him. She ignored him. "No! No, no! Please don't!" She begged.

"Wh-what? What's he talking about, Anna?" Spike stammered with terror. His face was completely white. He knew something bad was going to happen.

"Please! Don't do this! Don't!" Anna begged, shaking her head and ignoring Spike's question. There were tears spilling down her cheeks as she looked pleadingly at Megatron.

Of course, as cruel and ruthless as he was, Megatron sneered at her pleas. "He is now my slave, wretched human female. He must be marked as mine. Scalpel!" He called again and eyed a tiny Decepticon that came scuttling into the chamber and bowed nearly flat to the ground. "Scalpel, I have a new slave. He needs my marking upon himself. Prepare the nanobots." The Decepticon Leader ordered.

The small Decepticon nodded as he bowed again. "Right away, my lord!" He said before he tapped his chest and a small compartment opened up, spilling tiny nearly microscoptic metal beads across the floor. Only the thing was, the beads were moving around all on their own, scuttling around like little ants, yet remaining near Scalpel. Megatron swooped down to one knee and nearly slammed Spike down onto his stomach, knocking the air out of his lungs. He ignored the gasp and pants of the boy as he let small claws protrude out of his feet and grab the boy's arms and legs, holding him down.

"NO!" Anna was screaming as she watched helplessly. She looked frantically over at Starscream, who was still watching her but she couldn't really make out what the expression was on his face. He looked almost blank but there was something about his eyes. "Please, don't let him do this! Starscream, please!" She begged.

Megatron growled at the pleas and shot his Second In Command a daring look as if challenging him to try and listen to the human girl.

But Starscream tore his gaze away from Anna, looking quite hardened. "Shut up, Anna. The boy belongs to Lord Megatron now. You're pleas do not reach me." He hissed as he began nursing his torn arm.

Anna could only stare at him with horror and pain. She was starting to wonder if she should have just let Megatron tear her former master apart.

"get the hell off of me!" Spike suddenly burst out.

Looking back at him with pain, Anna could only watch as the nanobots and the small Decepticon, Scalpel began scuttling all over his back, tearing at the shirt that Spike wore. They tore the shirt completely off of him, showing him his bare back. She could only let tears stream down her cheeks as she felt so much pain building up inside of her. "Spike! Just brace yourself! Think of everything that is good! Your mom! Your dad! Bumblebee! Anything! Just don't think about the pain!" She called to him with a few sobs mixed into her voice.

Spike had stiffened, looking up at her with wide eyes. "What pain?" He suddenly choked out.

And suddenly, his face twisted in horror and extreme pain as the nanobots began burrowing into his skin. He could not stop the scream of agony as he felt the tiny needle like legs digging into his very poors.

Anna had to bite her lip until it bled to keep herself from screaming right along with him. She remembered that pain that Spike was feeling right now. She remembered how she felt the nanobots had dug deep into her skin as they began to mark her as Starscream's. She knew that the next ten minutes would be the worst moment in Spike's entire life. "That pain." She choked out and watched helplessly as the nanobots began their work. She could only listen to the screams of her younger friend as he began to be marked as Megatron's new property.

Ten minutes later, Anna was being carried out of Megatron's fortress in Barricade's claws. She felt so much remorse and pain having to watch what Spike just went through. She could not stop his screams of pain from bouncing around her mind. She couldn't block them out. She knew that he was going to be hurting for days to come until his skin healed again after being tatted.

It was Pete's death all over again.

She felt the guilt and pain as she had at that time. She had promised that she would protect Spike and she could not fulfill that promise. She had been so helpless as she watched the torture he just went through. It hurt her so bad. It made her feel terrible. And all she could have done was watch as he was hurt.

Almost completely blank the entire time, Anna soon realized that she was no longer in Megatron's fortress. She had been reliving that terrible moment, watching Spike's torture as he had been marked. She hadn't even realized that she had already arrived to the Pits, which were just outside of the Cyber Games Arena. How long had it been since Barricade even carried her all the way over to the Arena?

Walking through a dark corridor of the cool building, Barricade carried Anna into a large chamber where metal cages were lined through out in the entire room. Some were small, some were big. Some were completely filled with humans while some only had a few.

It was to a small cage did Barricade had stopped in front of and opened the full metal door on top of the cage. He glanced at Anna with a growl before dropping her carefully inside. He slammed the lid of the cage shut, making her wince as she looked up at him and locked the door. He started to turn away to leave her there but then he grunted and turned back, scowling at her. "Not that I fragging care, but you said Bumblebee, right? That Autobot insect is still here and still alive?" He asked, though he didn't sound too pleased.

Anna felt her face harden as she glared up at him before she folded her arms and looked at him with defiance. "Yeah. He is. And he's wonderful. I love Bumblebee to death. And I know for a fact that he could kick your ass any time, anywhere. And just so that you know, he's kind of protective of me, so if you try to hurt me, he will kill you." She growled at him.

Snorting, Barricade actually looked amused. "I'd rather face that insect's wrath any day then Megatron's. Not that I admit it often, but I know that fragging Autobot could kick my aft. He's done it numerous times." He admitted, surprising Anna. "Actually, so far, he's been the only challenge for me. Son of a glitch is too fast and too stubborn to die. I'm glad he's still around. Wouldn't much fun without him." He turned slightly away, ignoring the surprise on Anna's face. But he stopped from leaving again. "And just so that you know, what Starscream didn't do back there, he was doing to protect you. That son of a glitch has been driving me, Thundercracker and Skywarp nuts while searching for your pathetic aft. I know for a fact of how much you mean to that idiot. Not that it's like a Decepticon to do so, but he loves you. Stupid aftpipe that he is, though. Still can't understand what the fragging pits he sees in you." He growled before stomping away.

Anna could only just stand there, staring after Barricade with complete surprise. To hear it from Alice and Luc, that was one thing. But to hear it from a complete asshole like Barricade, that was completely different.

Maybe Starscream really did care about her. He just couldn't show it.

"Oh, what the fucking hell." Anna could only mutter before she cupped a hand against her right temple. She was feeling a freaking headache coming on just thinking about it. She was so confused, hurt, angry and just way too many emotions that she couldn't even keep up with. She just couldn't think straight right now.

Smooch. Smooch.

The sound of someone smacking their lips tore Anna out of her confused thoughts and looked to where the sounds were coming from. She felt herself freeze to see a man in a cage right opposite of her own. He laws leaning against the bars of his own, looking almost lustfully at her. He was wearing only pants and they were quite torn up as it was. He was heavily scarred but built powerfully. His skin was dark from sunburns and quite dry and flaky. But he wasn't terrible looking. He was just feral looking. The dark, lusty look in his eyes made Anna cringe away from her own bars, backing up against the wall as she felt her chest constrict with unease.

"Hey, sweetheart." The man said with a sick grin as his eyes traveled her body, pausing only for a moment around her thigh area before looking up again. "During break, when they let us out of our cages for exercise, I'm gonna to fuck you until you beg me to stop."

Cringing, Anna felt a whimper escape her. She wanted to feel brave, snap at this man for saying such things to her. But she just felt more fear than bravery. Just by looking at this man, she was seeing more Reaver than anything else. It sent a terrifying tremor through her as she tried to glare at him. "To-touch me and you die." She stammered on her words.

The man just barked a harsh laugh as he gave her a mocking look. "Oooh. A challenge. I like that in a whore. And that's what I'm going to make you. My fucking little whore." He sneered at her.

Another frightened whimper escaped Anna as she turned her head away, not daring to look at the man any longer. She didn't disbelieve him. She could tell that if he did get at her, she would not be able to fight him off. He was ten times bigger than her and more than likely much stronger. She felt terror striking through her as she imagined him coming at her and it brought only more tears to her eyes as she wrapped her arms around her middle, feeling a sob snapping its way out of her.

Suddenly, something went flying across the way from the cage next to Anna's and slammed right against one of the man's hands that was still encircled around a bar. It made the man yelp in pain as he jerked his hand back inside and waved his throbbing hand before glaring at who threw something at him.

Anna looked down with surprise to see what was thrown and saw a metal dog dish. Then she turned around, looking at who had thrown it at the perverse man threatening her.

There was a hugely built black man standing at the front of his cage. He was built like a mountain, really. He was definitely a lot bigger than the other man and much meaner looking. His entire body was nearly riddled with scars, even on his face. There were three deep lines running down one side of his face, running over his lips to the other side of his cheeks. He had no hair, even though he was wearing a black bandanna on top of his head. He had a thin black tank top and worn military green pants that had seen its worst days. But the glare on his face that he was aiming at the perverted man across the way, it even made Anna shudder.

"What the fuck! Why you throwing shit at me, nigger?" the smaller man snarled in rage.

The big black man just narrowed his eyes at the man before he curled back his thick lips and bared his teeth at him. "Touch the girl and I'll rip your fucking arms out of their sockets, Raymond!" He growled with a very deep and heavy voice.

The man, Raymond snarled right back, slamming his hands against the bars. "Yeah? Well I haven't fucked a whore in ages! I get dibs! I saw her first!" He snapped.

The black man just glared fiercer at him. "I wasn't planning on fucking her, you fucking idiot! I don't force women to do anything they don't like you do! Like I said, touch her, and I will kill you! Got that?" He snarled.

"Oh, come on! My dick needs exercise!" Raymond protested angrily.

"Dude, you won't have a dick to exercise if Eddie rips it off and shoves it down your god damned throat." Another man's voice spoke up. It was another man just right next to the big black man's. This one was Hispanic and he looked terrible. He looked as if he had been through a whole lot of hell. There was a gash right across his left eye and Anna could tell that it was useless. He had a terrible scar on the crook of his right arm, showing that something and nearly tore a chunk out of him. His legs, however, were oddly bent. He was crippled, Anna could tell. So how the hell was he surviving in the Cyber Games?

The man, Raymond snarled before he whirled away from his bars and went over to sank down on the floor. "You guys are a bunch of fucking party shitters! All I wanted was to get some pussy from that bitch and you have to spoil my fun!" He snapped before burying his head into his arms.

Rolling his eyes, the big black man and the Hispanic turned towards Anna, who had winced at their gaze and leaned a little farther from them. They both shook their head, looking a little sympathetic but they offered her meek smiles.

"It's all right. We're not like that fucking dick over there." The Hispanic remarked as he went over and leaned against the bars between his and the black man's cages. He gave Anna a warm smile and a light shrug. "Hey, name's Jorge Figueroa. Everyone calls me Fig."

"And I'm known as Hardcore Eddie." The big black man said, slowly reaching through the bars towards Anna, who flinched away from him. He twitched his hand backwards, hesitating from reaching towards her again. "It's okay. Just wanna to greet you. I won't hurt ya, girl." He tried to reassure her.

Anna watched him with unease before she slowly inched towards him and set a trembling hand into his, allowing him to shake hers. She felt more relieved when all he did was shake her hand and then released her. "An-Anna…Annabelle Lennox. Everyone calls me Anna." She said with a trembling voice.

The man, Fig's eyes flashed and his smile faded a little as his head came up. He looked as if he knew that name from somewhere. But he narrowed his eyes a little as it came right back, only a little more curious. "Lennox?" He asked with a frown. "You're not related to William Lennox, are you?"

Anna's eyes flashed with surprise before she moved closer to the bars to get a better look at the man, Fig. "Yeah! He's my dad! You know him?" She asked almost excitedly.

Fig snorted loudly, now grinning as he glanced away from him. "Hell, yeah, I do! That son of a bitch saved my life more times than I could even remember while we were in the same Special Ops squad! He was my captain at the time, of course. But I called 'em friend. We lost contact a little after the first Decepticon raid on the Qatar Forwards Operation Base. We got attacked by those sons of a bitch, Scorponok and Blackout and I nearly was killed. I'm sure Will thought I was dead at the time but I wasn't." He told her.

Quite amazed, Anna couldn't believe it. She was meeting another survivor from the Decepticon's first attack on Earth. She had been under the impression that her father and Epps had been the only ones who survived but she was being blown away. "Epps told me that everyone was killed! That it was just him and my dad! This is actually amazing!" She blurted out, smiling brightly.

"Whoa!" Another voice rang out and Anna looked across the way just a few cages down to see a tall blonde haired man, who wasn't as powerfully built as Hardcore Eddie but he was a good deal bigger than Fig was. He was a curious looking character to say the least. "Man, you know Robert Epps? He's alive?"

Biting her lip, Anna nodded. She was definitely curious now. There were now a few men in other cages peering down towards her, looking interested. They all looked like they recognized those names. "Yeah. Dad and Epps are both still alive and still fighting the Decepticons. Who are all of you guys? How do you know my dad and Epps?"

"Like I said, I'm Hardcore Eddie." The big black man next to her stated with a wide grin on his face.

"I'm Stackhouse." The tall blonde said from his cage across the way.

"They call me Tiny!" One called from down the way.

"I'm Rakishi!" An Arabic man said though Anna had a harder time seeing him since he was five cages down.

"And I'm Ames." A tall, dreary sort of cowboy looking guy said from Anna's other side.

Hardcore Eddie nodded as he looked around at every single man who had introduced their selves to the young girl. "We all worked with Epps once upon a time ago. We were Mercs while he was in the army. But he mostly grew up with one another, pretty much. He's a close pal to us." He explained. "We know Lennox only a little but not much. Met him once or twice but he never did have a high opinion of us." He looked back at her. "So, where's the old men? Why aren't they here, saving you? Why are you down here in the Pits, as a matter of fact." He asked her now narrowing an eye and frowning.

Sighing, Anna shook her head as she lowered her eyes. She knew this was going to take a little while to explain. But she got right to it. She began to explain everything that she had been through and how she was reunited with her father and did the most incredible thing like summoning the Autobots to Earth. She didn't leave a single thing out. But deep within her heart, she felt a shred of hope as she explained her story to all of these men.

Maybe, just maybe, they could help her fight in the Arena, help her escape and get back to her father, Ironhide, Bumblebee. And help her save Spike in the process. But that was already asking a lot.

But there was that shred of hope, at least.


	25. Chapter 25

Starscream was in a foul mood for numerous reasons. They were obvious reasons and everyone knew why he was in such a foul mood.

One, he had lost Anna and it was more than likely she was going to die the next day and all he could do was watch her as she fought for her life and failed.

Two, Megatron had stripped him of his position of being Second In Command and gave it to that fragging son of a glitch, Obsidian.

And three, the moment he returned to his city to rest up for the night and try and repair himself after all that damage that Megatron had done to him, here came that screeching, annoying but hysterical human, Judy.

The human woman had come up to him, demanding to know what had happened to Anna and to know where she was. She was not happy when Starscream snapped at her, telling her what had happened and to leave him the Pits alone so he could heal. She immediately broke down and he could barely hear her sobbing while in the kitchen. He didn't blame her for being upset though.

He was fragging upset, himself.

Starscream just could not believe what had happened, though. He was still quite stunned by what Anna had done for him. He could have sworn he lost a few screws in his head after she had threatened to kill herself and save his life from Megatron. He couldn't believe she had done that. He was reeling even has he laid on his resting berth, reliving that memory of watching that fierce look on Anna's face as she held up the sharp shard of metal.

Oh, yes.

He was very upset after losing Anna.

Starscream had tried to recharge but it was just too hard. He kept thinking about Anna, remembering that ferocious look on her face as she protected him. That memory and many others kept swimming around his head. He was remembering so many times that he had been with her.

Memories of them being together.

Her being a baby.

Starscream remembered the first time he had ever bought that woman, Sarah and her baby girl from the slave trader Decepticons. He had been at the Black Alloy where Sideways had brought the slavers in for a party. There had been so many Decepticons there, wanting to see what the slaver Cons had to offer as human slaves.

And then he saw that woman with her baby.

Sarah had been off in the back, cradling her human child, tears streaming down her cheeks as she stood in chains. She was trying so hard to keep Anna hushed, trying not to draw attention to her baby. No one really paid attention to them but him.

Starscream had watched her the entire time, looking directly at the baby. He didn't understand what the feeling had been when he saw that child. He felt a certain longing for her. He felt as if he wanted something from that child. He wasn't sure why he had suddenly bought her before the slaver had started the auctioning the mother and child off but he had spent a good deal of Energon for them both. The slaver hadn't even wanted to sell them together but since he was the Second In Command of the Decepticons and had quite the reputation with his temper, the slaver Con agreed to give both to Starscream.

After that, Starscream spent a lot of time watching Sarah with Anna. It had been the most uneasy moments of their lives together. He never really made her do anything until Anna was old enough to wean. He mostly let her just raise the girl while he carefully watched them.

Until when Anna was nine years old and Sarah had tried to run away with her.

That moment had been the worst for him up until now. Starscream had not wanted to kill the mother but she had angered him so much for trying to take Anna away that he just went mad. He whipped her to death with the child watching.

For the most part, Anna had spent most of her life being afraid of him but she had never really hated him until he murdered her mother. In a way, the child had grown up, fond of him. Just like he had been fond of her. She had always been smiling in her childish way whenever he walked into the room and even greeted him with a wave of the hand. She had acted like she wasn't a slave. And he never really acted like she was a slave until he had her marked when he killed the mother.

That was the day that Anna started to fear and hate him.

Starscream always knew how she truly felt about him. He knew about the insults that she would hiss under her breath when she thought he wasn't looking or listening. He had known that she had been talking slag to Jesse and Judy whenever she thought he wasn't paying attention. Only a few times when she caught him watching her insult him did he punish her.

But most of the time, he had let her just have at it. He didn't know why he let her get away with so much slag. No other Decepticon would have. If it had been the other Decepticons' slaves, their humans would have been severely punished.

But Starscream felt indifferent. He didn't want to punish Anna for anything she said. But he didn't want her to make a habit out of it either.

However, things sort of changed again when he had sent her and his old slave, Sparkplug to pick up an Energon delivery from the Decepticon Harvesters. He had known that there were Reavers out and about but he didn't think there would have been any trouble. The Decepticon Hunters were suppose to be out, doing their jobs. He, himself, had sent Anna and Sparkplug out but for some reason, he had wanted to follow them. Watch them and make sure. He had secretly watched the two as they took the Energon cart out that night.

But something had distracted him from seeing the Reavers coming at them.

While watching his two slaves, Starscream had seen HER for the first time. A certain Decepticon femme far off down the road from where he had been watching his slaves. He had met eyes with her, felt a spark strike up between them. They both had been surprised to see each other. And he wasn't even sure if she had felt the spark as he had. He never really said a word to her before. This had been the first time he'd ever seen her. She was one of the Decepticons that were created on Earth after they had taken over this planet. He remembered that she been one of Shockwave's. And he would have went over to speak to her.

If not for that fateful scream.

It had taken Starscream a moment to realize that he was hearing screaming. He had slowly tore out of his thoughts of the Decepticon femme and realized that Anna and Sparkplug were under attack by the Reavers in his city.

Immediately, he jumped in and began killing them to save Anna. He had failed to save Sparkplug but in all honesty, he didn't care about that human. All he cared about was the girl.

The next few nights after that dreaded night, Starscream could hear Anna screaming and crying in her sleep from the nightmares. He felt horrible that he hadn't been paying attention. He felt guilty that Anna had been attacked and she was now terrified of those human monsters that were created so long ago because of them. If only he had been paying attention and not staring off at a stupid femme, this would have never happened.

So he did what he could do. He tried to comfort Anna.

Of course, after Anna slowly began to stop having nightmares, Starscream had warned her to never tell anyone that he had been so kind to her. He didn't want anyone to know what this girl meant to him. That was why he was cruel to her. That was why he always snapped at her. He knew that if his Decepticon enemies knew of how much this human meant to him, they would use her to get at him. He couldn't bear to think of what would happen if something had happened to her.

So he pretended to not to care.

There had been many times that Starscream had violently cursed himself for caring for a stupid, pathetic human! This was not so like him as a Decepticon! He was the superior being! Humans were lowly disgusting creatures!

But…..Anna always seemed different. He couldn't think of her as the unsuperior being. There was just something about her that he couldn't figure out.

And now, all of his feelings for that human girl, all that he had done for her, all of their memories together were being blown away by Megatron because of her betrayal to him. She was going to die the next day and he couldn't do anything about it.

Suddenly, Starscream heard the bells of his front entrance. He groaned as he lift his head and glared towards his own door way. He did not want to deal with anyone right now. He knew it had to be Thundercracker, Skywarp or even Barricade, coming to give him condolences for what had happened. He just wanted to be left the frag alone!

"WOMAN! TELL THEM TO GO AWAY!" He snarled from his room.

From somewhere else, he heard Judy snarl, "Fuck you!" but he chose to ignore it. It came as a surprise to hear those words utter from her. She was never the one to swear very often at him. But he chose to ignore it, once again. He didn't want to deal with her pathetic sobs right now. "Answer the Primus damned door or spend the night in the hot rooms after being whipped!" He snarled back.

Again, Judy snarled back at him but he could hear her stomping through the halls towards the entrance. He would deal with her later.

All Starscream did was close his eyes again and try to sink down into recharge once again. He only hoped that this time he was successful. He really needed to rest. He was hurting so bad from the beating that Megatron had given him. And tomorrow, at Earth noon, it was just going to get worst.

Footsteps.

Whoever had come a ringing was trying to be quiet as they entered his chambers. Starscream felt irritated as a vicious growl rose out of his vocal processor. He was getting pissed off! He had told that fragging human woman to send their visitors away.

"Primus damn it, woman! Didn't I tell you to send them away! I'll whip your fragging skin…!" Starscream started to roar as his eyes flashed open and he started to sit up.

But suddenly, two very heavy beings slammed their afts down on his wings, pinning him down to the berth while a large cannon hole blocked Starscream's view of who it was. He had stiffened as he felt hands roughly grab his good arm and sore arm and pin them down at his sides while someone else sat on his legs, keeping him from thrashing.

A startled gasp escaped from Starscream as he stiffened and looked up at the somewhat glowing cannon shoved into his face. There was something awfully familiar about that cannon. He knew he had seen it before….

"Oh, shit." Starscream swore in human terms as he looked past the cannon and saw the glaring hot blue eyes bearing into him. He had only to barely turn his head to see the two identical evil grins of those stupid Autobot twins as they sat on his wings. They even had their blades out, pointed at the base of his wings as if daring him to move and give them a reason to slice them off.

"Hello, Starscream." Growled that grumpy aft Autobot Weapons Specialist as he kept his cannon pointed right at his face. "I dare you to say something and try and call for help."

Behind Ironhide, Starscream saw Optimus Prime standing over him, giving him a very grave and daring look as he held up his Energon blade. From the corners of his eyes, he saw that medic, Ratchet and even that ridiculous yellow and black Autobot scout, Bumblebee. They were the ones pinning his arms and legs down. A further look towards the ground, there were a group of humans glaring up at him.

That fragging human ex-slave, Sam Witwicky was there too, hugging his sobbing mother. He was so happy to see her, yet he spared a few evil glares shot towards the Decepticon Seeker. There was even a man glaring hatefully at him while another, a dark skinned one was holding him back. He looked like he really wanted to kill Starscream. There was another man that he recognized. He couldn't remember the human's name but he remembered that he had given them, the Decepticons what they had wanted to find Megatron and the All Spark. He also remembered that Megatron had cut off his legs, yet this man was standing up, though he was leaning against crutches for support. And he was glaring up at the Decepticon Seeker just like nearly everyone was doing.

And there SHE was.

Starscream had to stare at her with surprise. It was that Decepticon Femme from all those years ago. But what the frag was Alice doing there?

"Alice?" He yelped in surprise.

Alice just smirked up at him, folding her human version arms before she allowed her image to melt away into her true Pretender form. "Hello, Starscream. I think it's time we all had a talk." She said with mysterious tone.

"Where's Annabelle?" Ironhide growled, getting Starscream's attention again.

That was all that Starscream needed to know. He knew why the Autobots had come here, attacking him in his own chambers. He really should have seen this coming. One way or another, he knew they had been coming.

So all he could do was growl and look away from them. This was going to be a long night.

Explaining her story took a little longer than she had expected but at least the men she had met were keeping their mouths shut and listening to every word she was saying. Only once did the man named Stackhouse try to ask a question while she was talking but Fig and Hardcore Eddie both shushed him up and not so nicely.

Anna did everything she could not to break down like she nearly did several times. But eventually she couldn't help it in a few parts of her story. Like the deaths of her mother, Pete, Jesse and perhaps even Luc. She did not leave a single thing out as she told the group of men what had lead up to this moment.

The men never did ridicule her for a single moment like she thought they might do. They actually looked at her softly and listened to her. Only once did Hardcore Eddie show her what kind of softy he was as he reached into her cage and gently took her hand, giving it a light squeeze of comfort. She really had to smile at that. She saw a really good hear in this huge black mountain of a man. She could tell he had a softer heart than she would have realized. He was kinder than she thought. Gentler. He was a gentle giant with a foul mouth due to the fact that he did have to snap at the man, Raymond for making fun of Anna for crying. He threatened to rip the man's arms off again and that shut the man up.

Finally, Anna finished her story with what Megatron's decision for her to be the very next day. But it didn't have the greatest reaction at all.

All of the men growled, looking quite angry to hear that Megatron was going to put Anna in the Cyber Games Arena and fight for her life. They did not approve of that idea one bit.

"Over my fucking dead body!" Fig snarled angrily as he glared down at the ground with his one good eye. He slammed a fist against the ground, making Anna grimace. "I am not going to sit here and let those fucking Decepticons kill my old captain's daughter! And for what? Because you brought a bunch of alien robots to Earth, thinking that they're here the help us? Bullshit! You thought you were doing something good! It's not going to happen! Fuck that! I'll let 'em kill me before they even hurt you!"

Hardcore Eddie nodded with his own deep growl. "Same here. No one will hurt you while I am still breathing. I swear my own soul on that!" He growled.

"Same, man! That's totally BS that they're going to hurt a girl, or a woman just because of something like that!" Tiny called.

"And it's cowardly of the Decepticons to even hurt a young woman like you, Anna." Rakishi spoke up.

"But," Ames spoke up, frowning. He didn't agree with what was going to happen to Anna but he also was confused about something. "I am wondering what the Autobots, as you call them, really want from us and Earth? Why pretend to protect us?"

Anna quickly shook her head as she straightened, looking over at him. "No. They really are here to protect us! They're not pretending anything!" She spoke up quickly. Of course no one really looked too convinced. She sighed, shaking her head again. She didn't blame them for having their doubts. Once upon a time ago she had had her doubts about the Autobots. But after meeting them; Bumblebee, Optimus Prime, Ironhide, all of the them, she didn't doubt them any more. "I swear. They're not here to hurt us. They really are here to protect us. They've done so much for the past week in a half already. And wait till you meet some of them! You'll see what I mean! Like Bumblebee and Ironhide! And Jazz! You'll love him! And Elita One! She's so motherly….." She cut herself frowning at herself now.

When she had said one of those names, she had felt her heart skip a beat. She didn't understand it but when she had thought of Bumblebee….her heart skipped a beat. And she knew what it meant. She had to groan to herself as she realized what everyone, Ironhide had meant. "Oh, gawd. I really do have a crush on him." She muttered, mostly to herself.

"Huh?" Hardcore Eddie asked completely confused.

Anna whipped her head up, realizing that she had said that out loud. She could see all of the men looking at her with raised eyebrows. Her face flushing hot red, she quickly shook her head. "Noth-nothing! Never mind! Anyway, I just know that….." She was saying.

A wide grin spread out on Fig's face before he raised a hand and waved it. "Hold it!" He said in an almost singsong way. "You were just saying robot names and now you are blushing. You have a thing for one of them, don't you?" He laughed when Anna blushed even redder. "Okay. Now I'm really curious. Which one and why?"

Groaning again, Anna ducked her head down into her lap while listening to some of the men chuckling at her embarrassment. She felt so embarrassed that she had let it slip. But it was too late to take it back now. She raised her head and sighed, though there was a hint of a smile on her face. "Bumblebee, I guess. He was the first Autobot I had ever met before the others. He's really…he's really sweet and tender. He helped me see that there were differences between the Autobots and the Decepticons. He isn't like the Decepticons. None of them are." She cut herself off with a short laugh and rolled her eyes. "I mean, Ironhide is really grumpy and all. But he's really protective over everyone. He seems to be really protective of Bumblebee and me. He will do anything to protect humans and his friends. I've already seen it a couple of times." She told them. "Besides, that set aside, all of the Autobots are better than you think. If you just met them, talked to them, watched them in general, you would see it too. And my dad trusts them. And so does Epps. Everyone does now. They've done so much."

Slowly, all of the men smiled and shook their heads. They were now starting to look convinced. She could see that Stackhouse was still a little hesitant about what the trust she was talking about but even he was nodding.

"Well, if Epps trusts the Autobots then I'm up for it." Hardcore Eddie said, with a snort.

And everyone agreed with a nod.

Just then, a loud blaring alarm went off throughout the room, making Anna jump with a squeak. She looked wildly around, wondering what the hell was going on. She even stiffened when the doors of the cages swung open. She stiffened again when she saw all of the men in her row of cages began to stand up and stepped out. "Wha-what's going on?" She asked fearfully as she pushed herself to her feet and pressed her back against the wall of her cage.

Ames was walking past her cage door but paused to glance at her and shake his head. "Break." He muttered before walking on.

Frowning, Anna slowly stepped forward, peering out of her open cage at Hardcore Eddie and Fig as they stepped out of their cages. She still looked confused. "What?" She had to ask.

Glancing over at her but waiting for her to join him and Fig, Hardcore Eddie shook his head. "Break time. The Decepticon guards learned a long time ago that they can't keep us, humans, cooped up in these cages too long. We need exercise, to eat more than what they used to give ups." He stated, shrugging. "Years back, they thought it would be funny to just watch us stay cooped up and starved but then some of the prisoners here started to get really feral and started eating their cellmates because of how hungry they got. They only let two rows out an hour. We're the first ones to get our break time." He told her.

Completely alarmed by what he said, Anna stared at him with wide eyes, gripping a bar of her cage. "Ea-eat each other? What do you mean that men went feral and began eating each other?" She asked nervously.

Glancing at one another, Fig and Hardcore Eddie shrugged and looked back at her with shakes of their heads. It was the smaller man who answered. "Where do you think the Reavers came from?" Fig asked, shrugging again. "They came from here, the Pits? The hell that the Decepticons created for human kind. The Decepticons just starved and tortured men down here so much that they went crazy with hunger and their minds snapped. The first Reavers just began attacking people so they could eat." He said with a bitter smile.

Totally surprised, Anna couldn't believe what she was learning. She could have never guessed where the Reavers first came from. Especially down in the Pits. But then again, it was pretty dark and dank down there. "Here? The Reavers came from here?" She gasped softly, clutching the bar tighter.

Fig nodded again as he turned slightly away from her. "Yup. When the humans started going crazy and all, the Decepticon guards were fascinated until it really got out of hand. They had done it without Megatron's permission, of course. So when the Reavers started killing nearly every body, they knew they would get into serious trouble if they didn't deal with them. So they either killed Reavers or they released them back out into the wild." He explained.

Hardcore Eddie nodded. "From what I heard, when Megatron found out, he was really pissed about it. He destroyed the Decepticon guards before started having Reavers killed by the Hunters. So now you know where the Reavers first started. And now you know that it's because of the Decepticons that they're all over the place." He added.

"Wow." Anna said in a daze. She couldn't believe it. She was learning something rather important. But instead of dwelling on the Reavers situation, she frowned. "But….aren't the Decepticon guards worried that we'll try to escape if they let us out of our cages?"

Again at the same time, Fig and Hardcore Eddie shook their heads. "Nope. No one here is crazy enough to try and escape." The Hispanic stated as he looked back at Anna. He held up two fingers. "For one, I didn't think you didn't notice but we're actually underground. The Pits are about thirty feet below the surface, right next to the Cyber Games Arena. And another, if you do try and escape, there really is only two exits. The front entrance, where it's heavily guarded by Insecticons and Drillers. And then there's the entrance into the Arena. And there's usually Pretenders out there, working. There ain't no way out of this place unless the Decepticons come for you to play in the Games."

"What are Drillers?" Anna asked. She knew what Insecticons were but she wasn't familiar with Drillers.

Hardcore Eddie shook his head, snorting as he folded his brawny arms. "Huge robot worms created by that brainy Con, Shockwave. They tunnel around in the ground, making sure that no human tries to dig their way out. They have the same sensitivity as that Scorponok guy does. One little tick outside of the Pits, they'll come for you in a real hurry. And they're mean as hell so you don't want to face off with any." He told her. "Anyway, let's forget it for now. Let's get some food before everyone else scarfs it all down. And just stick close to me and Fig. No one'll mess with you if you're by us."

Nodding with a smile, Anna stepped out of her cage, ready to follow them.

Suddenly, a strong hand clamped down on her arm and yanked her backwards, causing her to gasp. She didn't even have time to think as she was thrown backwards hard against a wall before there was a loud clang as metal banged against metal.

Startled and terrified, Anna looked up to see that man, Raymond having slammed the door shut to his cage, locking it. He was grinning almost evilly at her while she looked at him with fear. And it did not help as he began rubbing his fist into his palm. She heard Hardcore Eddie and Fig swear before they came running back to start trying to rip the metal barred door open and help her.

"I told you, you little bitch. I'm gonna make you my little whore." The man, Raymond sneered as he stalked towards Anna, who cringed.

Anna was stuck in a locked cage with a huge man that meant to hurt her in the worst possible way. And it didn't seem that Hardcore Eddie, Fig or any of the other men that she talked to who came running back when they heard their friends screaming and yelling at Raymond were going to be able to get into the cage and save her.

No, this did not look good. One. Single. Bit.


	26. Chapter 26

Watching with fear as her attacker started to come at her, Anna couldn't help but cringe against the wall of the cage. She felt her body freezing up as she realized that she was in a whole lot of trouble. She was once again being sexually attacked. This was really starting to get old.

And even as that thought hit her, Anna's face slowly hardened and she gritted her teeth. It really was starting to get old! It was really starting to piss her off! First the Reavers. Second, the Reavers. And now, a fucked up Cyber Games warrior who wasn't even insane like the Reavers but a prick looking to get some?

Oh, no. This was so not happening!

For the past month in a half now, everyone was constantly attacking her for something. Anna was getting fed up and tired of being afraid and cringing away from everyone who wanted to hurt her. She had thought she was over this when Stevens the Pretender had attacked her. But now, she was once again being attacked.

"Oh, fuck this!" Anna suddenly spat, startling the man to stop advancing on her. Even Hardcore Eddie, Fig and the others stopped pounding on the door just to look at her in surprise. But she ignored them as she glared right at Raymond, jabbing a finger at him while clenching her other fist. "You are not going to fuck me! No one is going to fuck me! I am so sick and tired of people wanting to fuck me! Just because I'm a girl, it doesn't mean I am weak or helpless! You want to fucking pick a fight with me, then you better be a better fighter than I am!"

Raymond snorted as he gave her a dark look before he advanced just a little closer. "Little whore, I've killed at least ten Pretenders in the Arena. I am one of the best fighters in this god damned place. There is no way you could take me on, bitch." He growled at her, yet looked smug.

Anna gave him a very bitter smile. "Oh yeah? For your information, my name is Annabelle Lennox. Call me a bitch one more time. I fucking dare you." She threatened.

Again, Raymond sneered at her as he folded his arms. "Bit..." He was saying.

And that's when Anna snarled angrily before she kicked her foot up very hard and nailed him in between the legs. A choked gasp escaped from the man as his hands dropped down to grip his balls before he fell heavily to his knees and onto the ground.

There was a snort of laughter and Anna looked up to see that Fig was doing everything he could to not to laugh. The others just looked shocked that she would have done that. But either way, she had just brought that huge man down to his knees without getting hurt. She held up her head high before walking around Raymond to the door. "All right. How the hell do I get out of this…..?" She was saying.

Suddenly, Raymond lashed out and grabbed her leg, yanking very hard.

Anna gasped as she fell to the ground, sliding across the rough floor. She had to throw her hands out to catch herself and not let her face smash down. She yelped as she felt Raymond roughly grab her hair and pull hard. She had to scream in alarm and pain as she began to thrash to break herself free.

"Fucking hell! Raymond! Let her go!" Fig snarled, no longer laughing.

Raymond completely ignored him as he yanked Anna across the ground towards him before he forced her to her back and to face him. "Fucking bitch!" He ended up choking, still quite in pain. He raised a fist and slammed it across her cheek.

Blinding pain and black spots danced across Anna's face as she screamed in pain, her head thrown to the side. She could already see the darkness starting to sneak up on her. But before anything else she could do, Raymond's fist slammed into her face again and she suddenly tasted blood. She ended up choking a little as blood slid down her throat, causing her to gag. She began lashing out with her fists trying to fight Raymond off of her.

But Raymond's strong hands grabbed her wrists and yanked her arms above her head, pinning them painfully to the ground. It seemed that he was using only one hand because his other began pulling at her pants line. "Let's how fucking feisty you are after I fuck you, bitch!" He snarled angrily.

Eyes flashing open and full of fear but also rage, Anna braced her entire body before she kicked one leg up as high and hard as she could. She brought it right up and around Raymond, wrapping it around his chest and shoved him back as hard as she could with her thighs. To her satisfaction, it worked. She managed to force Raymond to let her wrists go as he went flying backwards onto the ground under her leg.

As soon as she was freed, Anna quickly rolled over and scrambled away from him, even as he was quickly getting to his own feet, snarling at her. She glared right back at him before she lashed out her foot and smashed it across his face, sending him reeling away from her to the other side of the cage. She was on her feet as quickly as she could, balling up her fists as tight as she could. She stood in a rather defensive way, knowing this was not over.

Snarling in rage, Raymond was on his feet, spinning to glare at her. He started to charge her again, throwing a fist back and then sending it propelling towards her head.

For a moment, Anna couldn't figure out what she should do to get away from this asshole. She wasn't much of a fighter. How was she going to defeat him and protect herself from this jerk off?

But suddenly remembering what Starscream, and even her father had told her, Anna relaxed herself and allowed her body to react for her. She remembered them telling her to trust her instincts. Allow her body to move from the threat. She knew that this was probably the only way to survive this attack. She felt herself move before she could even think it. She whirled downward away from Raymond's swinging fist, which only soared inches away from her face. She spun quickly on her heels, remembering how her father and Epps had moved when they showed her how to fight. She spun completely around Raymond, now facing his back. She gritted her teeth before swinging her fist hard to the side and nailed him hard into the side.

It surprised Anna but Raymond had yelled in pain as she felt something crack under her knuckles. She couldn't be too sure, but she was under the impression that she had somehow cracked one of his ribs.

But before she could continue to thinking about it, Raymond was swinging his arm backward to hit her with his elbow. She barely had time to propel herself backwards to avoid getting her face smashed in with it. She felt her back collide hard against the bars behind her and it knocked some of the air out of her lungs. She barely gasped as she saw him coming at her again with a raised fist. She quickly rolled to the side as he tried to punch her.

However, it seemed to have been a feint because Raymond pulled back and lashed out with his other arm, catching her around the neck. He yanked her back towards his body before throwing both of them towards the wall and slamming her against it. Again, the air was knocked out of her lungs.

"You fucking bitch! I'll kill you! And then I'll fuck you!" The man snarled as he grabbed a fist full of her hair and yanked her head backwards. He ignored her scream of pain before he shoved it again against the wall.

Once again, Anna felt splitting pain as her forehead collided with the wall. She could almost feel her head split and blood starting to run down the side of her head. She tried to shove herself away from the wall and thrash herself free but Raymond was keeping her pinned. His arm only began to tighten around her throat, cutting off her air even as he released her hair and began grabbing at her pants line again. He roughly slid his hand down the front of her pants, trying to touch her. She couldn't help but scream as she wriggled against him.

Her screams blocked out the sounds of stomping feet and neither one seemed to have noticed that someone was approaching the cage. They didn't even hear Fig, Hardcore Eddie and the other men yelp in surprise as they scampered backwards from the cage.

Suddenly there was a loud sound of twisted metal before something roughly grabbed Raymond and yanked him upwards.

Anna was still a little tangled up in his arm that when he was suddenly yanked back, she was sent spinning across the wall before she hit the corner of the cage. She gasped as she looked up past blood to see what was happening. She was completely alarmed to see Raymond being ripped right out of the top of the cage before he was viciously thrown across the large room. She barely could see him sailing, speeding, through the air before hitting a wall. Blood splattered everywhere from the impact before Raymond fell to the ground in a lifeless slump. He had been thrown so hard that the impact against the wall had killed him instantly.

But nonetheless, Barricade was still snarling as he eyed the dead human warrior as if expecting him to get back up. His glaring eyes was blazing hot red as he continued to watch the dead human.

After a moment, he whipped his head around and glared down at Anna, who cringed under his glare. She ended up wincing from the pain in her split forehead. She was sure that she was next to get yanked upward and thrown against the wall.

Instead, Barricade looked her over, still growling before he grabbed the twisted lid of the cage and shoved it further open. "What the frag happened?" He snarled.

Anna flinched under his tone but winced at the pain in her head. It was throbbing badly now. She couldn't help but reach up and touch her aching head before slowly sliding to the ground, now feeling weakened after that little fight with Raymond. She now felt so exhausted after what she just went through.

Again!

Barricade growled in irritation but whipped his head around and glared down at the group of men still just standing there. "What the FRAG happened?" He snarled at them next.

All of the men did not cringe away but glared up at him before they glanced at the slumped Anna. They knew that it was best to get her help as much as possible. She had done pretty well for defending herself but she was still hurt. And even if that meant getting medical attention from a god damned Decepticon, so be it.

Fig cleared his throat before looking back up at Barricade. "We were starting to head for break and he grabbed her, yanking her into his cage. He was going to rape her but she fought him off. She did pretty good though." He simply said.

Still growling, Barricade flicked his glance back at Anna as she just sat on the ground, clutching her head. He was knew this wasn't good. He had been threatened by Megatron that if something happened, if someone had hurt the girl, it would be him who got his aft handed to him. "Fraggit." He swore before he reached up and tapped his forehead, placing a connection to his very own team medic. He didn't even wait for Groundhog to greet him before he began shouting. "Groundhog! Get your aft over to the Pits, right! Now! I need your help! That fragging human girl got herself beaten up! And don't let Megatron know! He's going to be pissed when he finds out!" He snarled before breaking the connection. He then reached into the cage, yet did not grab Anna like she thought he was going to do. He just held his hand open next to her. "Come on! Come with me!" He growled at her.

Anna just looked up at him, uneasily. "Wh-where…..?" She was asking.

"Just get in my fragging hand already! You're hurt and you need medical attention! If Megatron sees you like this, or finds out what just happened, it'll be my fragging head that gets ripped off!" Barricade growled at her.

Grimacing, Anna wasn't sure if she should just listen to him or just piss him off more. But she decided the former. She didn't want to make him madder. Even if it was to spite him. She would rather deal with him than Megatron any day. Barricade may have been really grumpy and quite the aftpipe, but she didn't seem to mind him so much. She was starting to wonder if she had a concussion or something.

But nonetheless, Anna slowly stood up and climbed into Barricade's hand, even though her brain was screaming at her not to do it. She sat in his palm, looking up at him nervously before she squeaked in surprise as he closed his fingers across her lap to hold her in place.

Still growling, Barricade shot Fig, Hardcore Eddie and the other men a look. "Get to break or get back into your cages!" He snarled before he turned and stormed off with her.

Sitting on a large metal table, Anna wasn't sure exactly how she felt to have to glaring Decepticons staring at her. One being her savior from Raymond, Barricade and the other being one Decepticon who nearly choked her to death only a week before, Groundhog. She was nervous to be seeing this Decepticon. Not after the ambush that he, Barricade and a few other Decepticons had pulled on her and her friends.

Either way, Groundhog was looking her over, studying her injuries that she had gotten from Raymond. He had scanned her a few times but he didn't say a word as he just looked her over.

After a moment, he gave a growling like sigh before shaking his head and stepping back. "She'll be fine. She has a minor concussion from her head injuries but it's not a threat. She will just need some rest and not move around so much. As for the rest of her injuries, they're not even close to being minor. She will be just fine." He reported.

Barricade still didn't look too happy. He was looking rather anxious, letting his glaring eyes flicker from Anna and then to Groundhog. "Do something about the bruises and the cuts, Groundhog." He told him.

Huffing, Groundhog gave him an irritated look. "I can't. Humans don't repair as fast as we can. They have to heal naturally. It will be at least a week before they will vanish." He remarked.

Of course, that was not what Barricade wanted to hear. He looked horrified to hear that it was going to be a week before Anna's injuries was gone. "Oh, fragging pits. Megatron is going to rip my head off." He almost whimpered.

Anna had to give him a double take to figure out if she just heard right. She had just heard him whimper. Not that she could blame him. Megatron was a really bad Decepticon to piss off. She didn't want to piss him off any more than she already had. But still, she felt like being bold right now. She didn't want to exactly tease Barricade about his fear of the Decepticon Leader. She actually just had a question for him. "Hey, Barricade. Why do you hate humans? What did we even do to you?" She asked him.

Growling at her, Barricade glared for a moment. "Why the frag are you talking to me like an equal?" He demanded.

"Because we are equals, aftpipe." Anna said sourly. "Just because you're bigger, stronger and all it doesn't mean that you're any better than humans are."

Snarling down at her, Barricade raised a fist to bat at her but Groundhog quickly caught his arm and held it away from the young human. He did not look any annoyed than his Commander did. In fact, he was snorting as if amused before he opened up a compartment in his arm and took out a small bottle of pills between his fingers. "Actually, you're right there." He said surprising both Anna and Barricade.

"What?" Both of them gasped.

Giving Barricade a roll of his burning eyes, Groundhog shook his head as he just held the pills out to Anna. "Oh, give it a rest, Barricade. Deep down, you know that it's true. We thought we were the superior beings because of our size and advanced intelligence. We've been here on Earth for a long time now, trying to take complete control over the humans. But they are still fighting and we are not breaking them. They are a lot stronger than we thought. Like it or not, humans are much more than they seem. And I don't know about you, but I'm getting tired of having to worry about them. Worrying about the DATAR rebels making attacks on our factories. I'm getting tired of fighting them." He grumped.

Barricade just narrowed one eye at him, as if trying to figure out just who this was. He surely didn't expect such words to come right out of Groundhog's mouth. "Groundhog, what the frag are you on? How much Energon have you consumed?" He asked almost sarcastically.

Again, Groundhog rolled his eyes while watching Anna slowly open the lid. "I haven't had Energon today. And not like its messing with my processor." He gave Barricade an irritated look again. "You can't possibly tell me you're starting to get tired of having to hunt down humans every single day. It is starting to get old. Maybe the Autobots actually have a point this time. Maybe humans are rather superior in their own ways. And maybe that's why Starscream likes this human girl. Maybe she's what is making him act so strange." He remarked.

Anna just looked between the Decepticons with alarm. She couldn't believe she was even hearing this. Another Decepticon was actually starting to think sensible thoughts.

There was a pause before Barricade huffed and folded his arms. He looked sharply away from Groundhog, not looking pleased but he wasn't looking like he was going to argue too much about it. "It's not like it's going to matter, Hog." He let his eyes flicker to Anna and for once, surprising her, he actually looked sympathetic. "She's going to die tomorrow." He growled.

"And why the hell do you care then?" Anna had to ask, feeling quite annoyed.

"Because Starscream may annoy the slag out of me, but I still consider him a friend. A close ally." Barricade growled at her, though he was keeping his feared temper at bay. "Groundhog has a fragging point. I've started seeing it myself. You fragging humans really are stronger than we thought. Otherwise, your kind would have stopped fighting a long time ago. They're not accepting their fates. You're not breaking like we wanted you to."

Very surprised, Anna slowly shook her head. She really couldn't believe this. Two Decepticons were starting to have second thoughts about humans. She could only wonder exactly how many Decepticons there were thinking the same way as these two. "Will you let me escape then?" She asked, surprised at herself for eve asking.

Even Barricade and Groundhog looked surprised to hear her ask that question. But they seemed more surprised at their selves for not snapping at her for even making such a suggestion. They actually glanced at one another before they looked back at her.

Of course, it would have been Barricade who shook his head. "Sorry, human girl." He remarked with a sigh. "As much as I wished I could pay that favor to Starscream, letting you go, I do NOT want to face Megatron's wrath. If you're going to try and escape, you better not even bother asking me about it. Like it or not, you're stuck here until tomorrow." He muttered.

Slowly, Anna nodded. She understood. "Can you do me a small favor? It will just be between us three." She said in a quiet voice. Barricade narrowed his burning eyes at her before he dipped his head once. "Tomorrow, when I have to enter the Cyber Game Arena, will you let those men, the ones who tried to help me, into the arena with me? I can't fight by myself." She whispered.

Again, Barricade snorted. "I don't know. You did pretty well kicking the aft of that human before I killed him. You're more skilled in combat than you give yourself credit. It seems that Starscream taught you well." He remarked.

For some reason, Anna felt a swell of pride within her. She wasn't sure why she was feeling proud of that comment. She didn't care for Starscream's pride. Or at least, that's what she had thought. She found herself actually caring about it. "I can fight. Starscream did teach me how to fight. But so did my…so did the DATAR members that helped me. I'm not…..I just…" She was saying, not being able to figure out what words she needed to use.

"Relax, fragging human. Don't give yourself a bigger aching processor than you already have." Barricade grunted, looking away. "I'll do it. But you better not tell Megatron that I'm the one who did it. Doesn't matter anyway. Cause after you're dead, Megatron is going to order the entire Decepticon army to start killing all humans. He's tired of this planet. We're going to destroy it and awaken his own master."

Anna stiffened. She wasn't sure what he was talking about. She wasn't aware of another master. She had never heard of Megatron having a master. "Master? Who…." She was asking.

"It doesn't fragging matter." Barricade interrupted. "You won't live long enough to know about Him. All humans are going to be destroyed before he's even awake. So it don't fragging matter. Now, I'll make that bargain with you. But don't you fragging tell Megatron about it. If you do, I swear to Primus, I will kill you myself and then suffer his wrath." He growled at her. "Now, let's hurry it up back to your cage. If you're going to talk those fragging human warriors into helping you fight, you better get started on your fragging plans. Not that it's going to matter. You will all die before the day is through tomorrow." He held out his hand for her.

Biting her lip, Anna nodded. She was definitely surprised by this sudden change but it was giving her some hope. She would definitely try and ask Fig, Hardcore Eddie, Ames, Tiny, Stackhouse, and Rakishi for help. She wondered if they would. But then again, they had said that they would die before the Decepticons hurt her. Not that she wanted them to die.

She just prayed that her father and the Autobots would find her before that ever happened.

Getting back to her cage and trying to rest, it wasn't long before there was a blaring alarm and Anna looked to see that all of the men on her row of cages were returning. Anna offered the men she somewhat befriended a faint smile as they stepped into their cages. But Hardcore Eddie didn't stop at his cage. Instead, he moved to the opening of hers and held up a bowl, even as Anna stiffened. He just shook her head and stepped into the cage, offering her the bow of food. It looked like some kind of black chili.

But either way, it had Anna's mouth watering. She took it gratefully smiling at him.

"How are you feeling? What did that bastard, Barricade do to you?" Fig asked, leaning against his own bars as Hardcore Eddie returned to his own cage.

Anna shook her head as she dipped her head back and ate some of the chili. Hardcore Eddie hadn't brought her any utensils so she had to eat it right out of the bowl. She was completely surprised that the chili was actually good and not gross looking like it looked. She chewed some of the beans before swallowing, then she looked at her new friends. "Actually, he didn't do anything to me. He had Groundhog look me over and then they gave me some pain killers. I have a little bit of a concussion but it's not too serious." She then took a deep breath.

This was it. It was time to ask the men for help.

"Um…..you're not going to believe this." Anna spoke, earning a few frowns from everyone. She bit her lip for a second before looking around and making sure no one else was listening. She didn't want her plans to get ruined by any eavesdroppers. She just wanted these men to know what she was up to. "I made a deal with Barricade and he's agreed to help me and us."

All of the men dropped their jaws in surprise, their eyes popping open wide.

"What? You actually made a deal with Barricade? What kind of deal?" Fig asked, his voice quite low. "How's it going to help you and us?"

Biting her lip, Anna dipped her head down a little before she looked at them. "I really need your help. I'm going to die tomorrow, supposedly. But…..Barricade has agreed to give me a chance for survival. Something that will piss off Megatron. He's going to let you guys into the arena with me. Will…..will you fight with me? Will you help me fight?" She asked weakly.

All of the men frowned seriously before they looked at each other.

For those few minutes, it was the most agonizing moments in Anna's life. She was so expecting them to become hard and tell her to go fuck herself. To tell her that they would never help her fight for her life. She wouldn't have blamed them. She was asking them to risk their lives for hers. She knew that wouldn't be fair to them. They had just met and she was already asking them to die with her. It hurt herself to think that…

"We're in." Fig suddenly spoke up.

Anna looked at him in surprise before looking around at everyone. She was more surprised when they one by one nodded in agreement, serious looks on their faces. It brought tears to her eyes as she felt her breath be taken out of her. "Are….are you sure? You might die….." She was saying.

"We said we're in, Anna." Hardcore Eddie said, thickly though his eyes were smiling at her. "We won't let you die alone. If we die, we all die fighting together."

Tears spilled down Anna's cheeks before she set the bowl down and offered Hardcore Eddie her hand. "Tha-thank you." She began to sob.

Smiling faintly, with everyone else, Hardcore Eddie reached into her cage and held her hand gently in his huge one. "It will be okay. Maybe if we're lucky, those Autobots of yours will show up on time." He said, though he didn't sound like he was too convinced.

But Anna knew that they would. She knew that her father, Epps, Sam, Maggie and everyone, and the Autobots would come for her. They would come and save her. At least, she hoped they would make it before she ended up dead. But at least she had some friends in this dark place. Friends who would stand at her side and help her fight.

That is…if Barricade decided to go with it.


	27. Chapter 27

Sleeping on the cold ground of her cage was not the most comfortable thing at all. It was hard a for her to even sleep. But Anna managed to get at least a little before an alarm blared throughout the entire chamber, causing her to jolt awake with a cry of alarm.

Glancing around through wide eyed but sleepy eyes, Anna found that the doors to the cages were sliding open much like they had the day before. She tensed up, looking around until she saw all of her friends getting up, groggily. She frowned sleepily at them before she climbed to her feet, having to use the bars to hold herself up. "Wha-what's going on?" She asked between a yawn.

Glancing over at her, all of the men just stretched or yawned before they started to leave their cages. And of course, Fig and Hardcore Eddie waited until Anna joined them. "Morning. The Cons make us get up this fucking early so we can eat and then we go out to the Arena for the rest of the day before the Cyber Games." Fig remarked, none too happy.

"They try and keep us in shape." Groaned Stackhouse as he stretched his arms and started walking down the aisle. "We have to stay fit if we fight in the Games. It's either do that or we die in the arena."

Hardcore Eddie nodded as he walked directly beside Anna. He was not going to take any chances with her being attacked again. Not that any of the other men in the entire Pits dared to. Almost everyone saw or heard what had happened with Raymond. They knew better than to piss Barricade off. "If the Decepticons want a show out of us, they have to make sure we stay strong. That's why we do get fed pretty well down here and get the exercise that we need." He told her.

Anna slowly nodding taking it all in. It did make sense at least. She understood that much at least. She walked with her new friends through the rows of cages. She glanced around, examing the area. She was hoping to find some way of escaping the Pits. She really needed to find a way out and take the guys with her. She knew that she was going to die that day. She needed to get out before it did happen. She knew that Barricade had told her that he didn't care if she did escape but he did tell her not to involve him.

So far, unfortunately, Anna wasn't seeing a way out.

The chamber the cages were in was large enough to hold at least a hundred of them, so it could probably have held nearly three hundred humans. Anna could see blinking red glares on the walls, so she knew that they were being watched by the Decepticon guards. There were two gaping holes in the chamber. So they had to be the entrances that Fig had told her about. They were heading up to one of them that lead up a large pathway. It was rather dark until they slowly approached an open hole where to Decepticon guards were standing in front of a large clear lavender wall of some sore. Anna could see right through it and on the other side was the wide open space of the Cyber Games Arena. There were people already out there, running around the grounds and some were even sparing with one another.

Anna hesistated when she and the men approached the clear wall. She wasn't sure what it was. She could see people going through it and nothing was happening to them. It was like it was just a wall of light. But she still felt uneasy about it. "What is that?" She asked, looking up at Hardcore Eddie.

Again, everyone glanced at her before they shrugged and kept going. Fig and Hardcore Eddie only slowed down to stay right beside the young teen girl. "It's just a scanner. It makes sure that no one brings weapons into the Pits. Weapons are only used outside in the Arena. And that's it. It even counts how many humans go in or out. That way if some humans do escape, they will know about it." Fig explained. "I also heard a rumor that it sorts out who is human and who's not."

Anna's eyes flashed in surprise as it hit her. She knew that if it did that, then it must have been new. The Decepticons were probably keeping a look out for the Autobots. They were expecting an Autobot trying to sneak into the Pits. But with this….it must have been used to make sure that they were caught before it happened. "Is it safe to go through?" She asked, somewhat nervous.

Fig just nodded as he gave her a faint smile. "Yeah, it's safe to walk through. Unless you try bringing a weapon in or even out. Then an alarm will go off and the Pretenders will be on you." His eyes grew wide at the sound of that and he sighed in exasperation. "And trust me. You do not want that. They're touchy enough as it is. You do not want to piss them off. You try to bring in a weapon into the Pits, they will tear you apart." He warned her.

Anna slowly nodded. "Okay. But it doesn't stop humans from coming into the Pits, right?" She asked him as they slowly walked through the laser wall.

All of her men friends looked at her, serious looks on their faces. They were catching onto what she was meaning. And it was Ames who answered, shaking his head. "We already said that it takes count of how many humans comes out of the Pits. If any extra human tries to go through the wall, they will get caught." He told her dryly.

"And they will die, horrible." Tiny added.

Sighing, Anna knew that she was being too hopeful. She couldn't help it though. She wanted there to be some kind of hope. "But say it did happen. What if someone from the outside took one of the prisoner's place and came it. Would it work?" She asked.

"Anna, take a look around." Fig said, with a sigh as he glanced around the massive arena. "No one is getting in or out from the outside. I wished your hopes would be true, but it's not going to happen."

Glancing around, Anna saw his point. There were Insecticons and Pretenders everywhere, in the stands. On top of the arena boxes. They were patrolling and watching everything that was going on. There would be no one way for someone to sneak in without getting caught.

And that's when she saw him.

Heart clenching in fear, Anna felt her breath catch in her chest as she saw Sideways in the stands, speaking to a Pretender. He was watching her. The look he was giving her was sinister and she knew that he was there for her. She already had a feeling she knew why. She knew that he was there for her, for the death of his Pretender, Stevens. She knew it because he was offering Energon cubes to the Pretender he was speaking to.

"Oh, shit." Anna hissed under her breath.

"What?" Fig asked, suddenly alert as everyone else was.

Anna shook her head as she watched the Pretender taking the cubes from Sideways and watched as they sealed the deal. She knew that it wasn't a good thing. Not for her or anyone involved. She knew she had to escape before anything happened to her or her friends. Or she needed to find Barricade. He was under orders to make sure that she wasn't harmed until the games. He would protect her. "Shit." She murmured again, looking around and not finding him anywhere.

"Yo, Anna. Talk to us. What's wrong?" Hardcore Eddie remarked.

Anna grimaced before she shook her head and continued to eye Sideways and the Pretender. She did not want her friends to get hurt trying to protect her from them. She knew their time was ticking as it was, but this was a whole new thing. "Sideways." She murmured, glancing at her friends. "He's here for me."

The men all frowned before looking over at the two Decepticons and even stiffened when the Pretender started to make his way towards them. They knew that wasn't a good thing.

"Wait. What? But I thought your so called punishment to death thing wasn't until about noon. That's six hours from now." Fig said stiffening.

Anna nodded as she felt fear welling up inside of her. She couldn't help but feel afraid as the Pretender came closer to them. "Yeah. But that's Megatron's idea of punishment for me. Sideways must be here for a whole different reason. I helped my Pretender, Alice, kill his. He must be pissed off about that." She told them quietly.

One by one, the men frowned darkly as they began to form a circle around her. They were determined to protect her. No matter what. Even as Anna started to protest, they just glared up at the Pretender walked right up to them.

"You're not fucking taking her, Con." Fig growled at him savagely. "Who fucking cares what she did to that fucking asshole, Sideways."

The Pretender snarled at him before he shook his head with a sneer. "The girl? Who says I was here for her? We got orders from Barricade that no one can touch her. If we do, we're deactivated for sure. No," He sneered darkly. "Sideways wants you." He then lashed out and snatched a started Fig up.

"No!" Anna and the men cried out in alarm. They tried to hurry forward to stop him but several other Pretenders slammed down near by them and stopped them.

Fig was already starting to struggle as he was nearly being carried away. He tried to slam a fist down on the Pretender's hand, though that didn't work at all. "Hey! Put me down, you fucking robot! What the fuck use am I to that fucking rejected Decepticon? I'm fucking crippled!" He yelled at the Pretender.

"Don't know, don't care. Sideways just wants you." The Pretender growled, ignoring him.

Anna tried hard to rip past the Pretenders that were holding her back. She knew why Sideways was doing this. She knew that he must have been watching her interact with Fig. He was doing this to hurt her. Hurting her friends would hurt her. She knew that whatever Sideways had planned for Fig, it would probably kill him. She couldn't let that happen.

She and the men she had befriended could only watch, helplessly as the Pretender with Fig handed him off to Sideways, who sneered down at him. "Yes. This one will do nicely. I think I'll put him in a cage full of Reavers and let all of my guests watch him get torn apart." He said, throwing a sneer in Anna's direction.

"NO!" Anna screamed, struggling harder to get past the Pretenders gripping her arms. "You mother fucker! Take me! I know you want me!"

Everyone looked at her in alarm, although, Sideways snorted as he turned and started lumbering away. "Love to take you, human glitch. But can't. Megatron's orders. So I'll deal with this one instead. He's a friend of yours, right? Makes it all the better." He said, sickly pleasant.

Gritting her teeth in rage, Anna glared hatefully at Sideways. She had to find some way to stopping him. She couldn't let him take Fig. "Hey! Fuckface! I enjoyed killing your Pretender! He was so weak and stupid! Just like you!" She snapped.

It worked.

Sideways had suddenly halted, stiff as a board before he whirled around and glared down at her. He did not look happy for one second. It was affecting him. "Tread very carefully with your words, human. I may change my mind and risk the consequences from Megatron." He growled viciously.

Anna knew she hit the spot. She knew that this was very dangerous to do. But she had to try at least. "Oooh." She cooed sarcastically and as nasty as she could. "Did I hurt the little baby Decepticon's feelings? Good!" She snarled then. "Stevens was just like you! Stupid! Weak! Pathetic! Starscream is ten times the better Decepticon than you are! You fragging son of a….!" She was yelling.

Roaring with rage, Sideways allowed Fig to drop out of his hand and go crashing to the ground. He had lost his temper with Anna. He started to charge her, causing her to gasp. He wanted nothing more than to kill her. He was going to do it. He didn't even think what would come out of this. He just wanted to rip this weak human to pieces.

"Run! Anna!" Hardcore Eddie roared, now shoving the Pretenders away from him and her before shoving her into a run.

Anna did not need to be told twice to have to run. She knew she had pushed it. But it seemed to have worked. Now, Sideways' rage was directed on her. Not normally a good thing. She turned and ran as fast as she could, knowing that she was being chased. Sideways was pounding against the ground, chasing her. She could still hear him roaring in rage as he chased her.

And it didn't sound like he was too far away.

There were shouts of alarm and she could have sworn she heard Barricade now shouting. He must have heard the commotion and came looking. She hoped that he would hurry it up and come after Sideways, himself.

Suddenly there was a deafening boom and something crashed into the ground right behind Anna. The force of the explosion sent her flying into the air, causing her to scream as she hit the ground. She found herself crashing and rolling before finally coming to a stop. She could barely hear anything any more. Everything was dulled.

Pushing herself up and quite dazed, Anna looked around through blurry eyes and saw a huge smoking hole in the ground. She realized what had happened. Sideways had tried to shoot her with his cannons. He had missed but nonetheless, he had tried to incinerate her. And now, he was lumbering over her, his glowing hot cannon now aiming at her.

"Side…!" Someone was shouting at Sideways.

Anna couldn't make out what was being said but she saw Barricade racing towards Sideways, looking pissed off. He was yelling at him, aiming his own cannon.

But Sideways ignored him, starting to fire. Anna knew, even blearily, that Barricade wouldn't make it in time. She would be a smoldering pit in the ground by the time he even got to Sideways and stopped him from firing.

Suddenly, there was a series of clicks and metallic shouts, in addition of a roaring engine as something came flying right over Anna's head. She could barely see what it was before it slammed right into Sideways, throwing him backwards before there was a series of clicks and her savior transformed. She saw only a flash of yellow and black before she blinked several times and saw who it was.

Her breath caught in her chest as she sat up with a jolt. "BUMBLEBEE!" She screamed.

Bumblebee was still transforming on top of Sideways before he began bashing his fist against the Decepticon's head. It had only been a few seconds before every Pretender and Insecticon realized what just happened. They roared before opening fire on him.

By that time, the young Autobot was already leaping backwards and flipping across the ground before all of those blasts that had been fired came right at Sideways, missing him.

"NO!" Sideways screamed before he was engulfed in the blasts. There were explosions as the blasts slammed into him, sending him sprawling in every direction and hot metal went flying. He fell to the ground, chunks missing out of him. Hot Energon spilled from his frame but it was clear that he was dead.

Anna quickly got to her feet, her eyes wide as she looked right at Bumblebee. She couldn't believe it. He was here! He had saved her from getting blown to ash by Sideways. And he was already whipping his cannons around, firing off at Pretenders and Insecticons, causing them to explode.

The entire arena became battle field as Pretenders and Insecticons rushed to attack him only to be blasted backwards.

Just then, something came slamming down on top of Bumblebee, slamming him to the ground.

Anna flinched and cried out in alarm. She felt her heart clench in her chest to see that it was Starscream. He had slammed right down on Bumblebee's back and was now pinning him to the ground, his cannon aimed directly at his head. "NO! NO! Pleased! Don't hurt him!" She screamed, now rushing forward.

Starscream shot her a sharp look and a snarl before he aimed his other cannon at her. "Stay where you are, Anna!" He snarled at her, causing her to flinch to a stop. He sharply looked around at the Pretenders and Insecticons that were rushing forward to help him destroy Bumblebee. "That means all of you! Hold your fragging fire!" Everything stopped, all looking shocked at the demand. Other than Bumblebee struggling and swearing up a storm in Cybertronian. But he stopped when Starscream jabbed him sharply with his cannons. "Shut up or I'll blow your head off, fragging Autobot scum!"

Surprisingly, Bumblebee stopped struggling but managed to send a hated glare up at him.

Moments later, there came the screaming engines of a jet before Megatron suddenly came slamming down on the ground. He transformed and looked at Starscream and Bumblebee with surprise. "What? What is this, Starscream? What is this fragging Autobot doing here? And why haven't you killed it?" He demanded.

Starscream snorted as he looked over at him, almost smug like. "Last night, the Autobots attacked me in my own chambers, Lord Megatron. They were demanding me of where my former slave, Annabelle was." He announced before sneering. "I lied to that pathetic Autobot Leader, Optimus Prime. I told him that I would take them to her. And when they released me, I destroyed them." He said, his voice going cold.

Anna felt her breath catch in her throat with horror. She couldn't believe that.

And neither could Megatron, even as his eyes widened but a deep growl escaped out of him. "You lie, Starscream!" He snarled angrily.

"Bum-Bumblebee!" Anna cried out, her eyes looking at him with horror. "Is…..Is…..th-that true?"

Bumblebee looked over at her and was still for a moment. It was like he was frozen by her question. But then a great sadness came over him before he looked away, whirling pitifully and nodded. He whirled and clicked at her, sadly.

"I still don't believe it!" Megatron snarled angrily.

Starscream snorted before he reached behind him, grabbing a lump of black metal that was hanging by a wire, tied to his back. "I thought you might say that, My Dear Lord Megatron. That's why I brought you a present. Behold." He then threw the black lump of metal to the ground and there were startled gasps from Pretenders, Insecticons and even humans. "The head of Optimus Prime."

Anna looked at the lump of metal with shock and horror. She felt her body just grow cold. She couldn't believe her eyes. She could barely make it out but studying it hard and long, she saw that it did look like Optimus Prime's head. It was just badly burned and ripped up.

"What?" Megatron demanded in shock as he moved forward and snatched it up. He looked horrified to see who's head this was. "You! You destroyed Optimus Prime? But….." He was saying.

"That's right." Starscream said smugly. "I even have a recording of it. But surely, you don't need to see it. Even you can't deny it. That is Optimus Prime's head. You've spent so many millennia trying to rip that head off. Clearly, you can see what it really is."

For a long moment, no one spoke but stared at what appeared to be Optimus Prime's head. But after that moment, Megatron growled before viciously throwing it to the side. "That is Optimus Prime's head. How the frag did you manage to do that? What about the other Autobots?" He snarled.

Starscream just sneered before viciously kicking Bumblebee. "Ask this wretched Autobot. Oh….I mean the last Autobot surviving. He's the only one left. He watched me destroy the others. I've been hunting him all night." He said.

Again, Bumblebee shot him a look and whirled at him that only Anna and the Decepticons could understand.

"So…why should I believe this wretched Autobot?" Megatron snarled angrily.

Rolling his eyes, Starscream raised a hand and a beam of light shot out of it, showing everyone a holographic projection. It was a recording of some kind of battle. Anna felt a gasp escaping her as she saw what was happening.

In the recording, there was a battle between Starscream and the Autobots. There were explosions as Starscream and shockingly, Thundercracker and Skywarp were destroying Autobots. They were attacking the human base that all of the DATAR were at. Anna recognized it. There were explosions and people were littered all over the ground. Autobots were trying to fight back but the three Seekers were shooting missiles and causing a huge mess.

In the recording, it showed Starscream streaming down right at Optimus Prime, shooting him with his missiles before slicing his head right off his shoulders.

"No." Anna breathed in horror.

Megatron narrowed his eyes before snorting and looking at Starscream. "Where is Thundercracker and Skywarp? I want to hear it from them." He growled, still not believing Starscream.

"We are here, my lord."

Everyone jerked around to see the two Seekers, who did look rather battle worn. They had scorched marks all over them, as if they had fought in that fight. They both walked right up to Megatron and dropped down to their knees, before him. "Starscream speaks true. He radioed us last night, calling for help because the Autobots had attacked him. We rushed to his aid and managed to chase the Autobots back to the DATAR rebel base." Thundercracker reported before he held up his fist and then opened it.

Again, Anna gasped.

Sam was sitting in his palm, looking still as death. He was severely burned but it was clear that it was him. Even Megatron had stiffened. "We brought him as proof. He's still alive, barely. But all others are dead. Even the so called DATAR Leaders, Will and Epps. All are dead. We left none alive." Thundercracker said coldly.

Tears were now spilling down Anna's face. She couldn't believe this. She couldn't that Starscream had done this. And there was no way it could have been a fake story. Thundercracker and Skywarp were apart of it. Sam looked horrible. She could barely hear his raspy breathing as he laid in Thundercracker's palm.

But it made Megatron chuckle darkly before he held up his head high. He looked as if he was the one in triumph. "Decepticons! The Autobots are destroyed! We have won!" He roared.

The entire arena exploded in cheers from all Decepticons there. It was almost deafening.

Anna felt a choking sob escape her as she looked at Bumblebee, begging him with her eyes that it wasn't true. He glanced at her, sadly before he shook his head and let it fall against the ground. He truly defeated. It could not be helped. Anna broke into heart wrenching sobs. Her father, her friends, the Autobots….they were all gone. All but Bumblebee.

"We shall celebrate this victory by watching this wretched Autobot and the wretched human, Anna die!" Megatron roared with a wicked laugh. "Chain that Autobot scum! He will suffer by the Drillers. As for the girl," He turned a wicked sneer onto Anna. "She will die just like how I envisioned it. She will fight Pretenders and Reavers alike. Right. Now." He ordered.

Yup. All hope was lost.


	28. Chapter 28

The sound was almost deafening from where Anna was standing. She winced at all of the cheers, jibs and roars from stands. She wasn't sure she was going to be able to concentrate without getting distracted. Not that she wasn't already. She couldn't believe that this was happening. She couldn't believe that this was the way it was going to be.

And with her, Bumblebee was going to die by the Drillers. She still didn't know what those things were.

At the moment, Anna was standing just outside the Pits entrance, looking around with fear. She could see Bumblebee being dragged across the Arena by Obsidian and Barricade, who did not look exactly happy about the whole ordeal. Anna knew that he secretly admired her Autobot friend. He just wouldn't admit it out loud to any one else but her. So he wasn't exactly happy that he would be watching his greatest rival being torn apart.

Many Decepticons were cheering for Bumblebee's destruction and all she could do was watch as he was yanked into the middle of the arena, heavy chains keeping his arms bound behind his back. His weapons system had been deactivated as well as his transformation mode, not that he could transform with those heavy, thick chains around him.

Everything was dulled to Anna as she watched Obsidian shove Bumblebee hard, knocking him to the ground. He gave him a vicious kick, earning a painful whirl from the Autobot. Barricade had started to glare at his fellow Decepticon but stopped himself as he turned away. The beatings that Obsidian had began only urged more cheers from the crowd all around the arena, egging him onto kicking Bumblebee some more. Tears flooded Anna's eyes as she curled her hands close to her chest. She hated this.

Suddenly there was a rumble under Anna's feet, making her jump and look around with wide eyes. The ground was vibrating and shaking. It was like something big was trying to push itself up out of the ground.

A moment later, the ground split and a big metallic worm began pushing itself out of the ground only yards away from Bumblebee, who stiffened and looked at it with wide eyes. Even he had tensed up to see it. He scooted back a little from it while Obsidian backed away. The Decepticons in the stands erupted in thundering cheers and roared for the giant metal worm to attack. This must have been one of the Drillers that Fig had told her about.

Problem was, it was starting to move forward across the ground as if to begin its attack Bumblebee.

"No." Anna breathed in fear as she watched Bumblebee stagger to his feet and try to back away from the Driller. "Bumblebee."

Just then, the Pretenders standing next to Anna grabbed her, making her gasp in alarm. She was being dragged across the ground by them. She tried to dig her feet into the dirt, trying to deny being dragged. But they were stronger than her. Her arrival into the Arena only caused Decepticons to roar, cheer and even boo at her. She yelped as the Pretenders' grip only tightened on her arms, making her wince. They ignored her painful cry as they pulled her several yards away from the entrance to the Pits where the human warriors were trapped behind a steel barred gate where her friends were watching helplessly. They were slamming their fists against it, kicking at the bars, trying to find some way to come to her aid. But it wasn't working.

Tearing her eyes away from her new found friends, Anna saw Barricade passing by her and the Pretenders. He met her nervous gaze for a moment before tearing his gaze away. For only the briefest moment, it looked like he was ashamed to even look at her.

Finally, the Pretenders stopped dragging her and shoved her to the ground, where she stumbled and nearly fell onto her face. They hovered over her as she turned to glare up at them but did nothing else to her. They just stood there.

"Decepticons! It is time!" Megatron boomed from his show box, even making Anna look up at him. He was standing up in his box and she could barely see Spike sitting in front of him. She felt her breath catch in her chest to see her young friend. He was shirtless, wearing only the pants he had came with her in. But there was some kind of metal collar around his neck, along with a long chain that was connected to Megatron's arm.

Close by, Sam was awake and sitting in a cage, looking at his son with worry. He was just sitting down, his legs close to his chest. He looked tensed but he wasn't fighting to break out like Anna thought he might do.

Next to him, Starscream was just standing there, looking down at her. He was just standing there, like a metal statue. He didn't look happy about this. But he wasn't doing anything either. Anna really started to wonder what she really meant to him if he wasn't going to protest for her life like he had before. Maybe she shouldn't have risked her own life to save his after all. She had saved his life and he was going to just stand there and watch her die. It spiked up anger in her. She even shot him a hated look, not caring if he didn't see it or now. But seeing his head coming up a little, she knew he was acknowledging her emotions towards him. She didn't care. She hoped that he would rust and fall apart after this.

Slowly, everything went quiet. Even the Driller had stopped sliding across the ground towards an uneasy Bumblebee. Everything was silent as everyone looked up at Megatron. They were giving him respect that he didn't fucking deserve.

"Welcome to the reopening to the Cyber Games Arena!" Megatron boomed, his claws stretched outward, lightly tugging Spike's chain and making him wince. He ignored it though before dropping his arms again. "We are at victory! The Autobots are gone! They have been destroyed! We have won!" Cheers and roars of approval exploded in the arena but died quickly so that the Decepticon could go on. "And as proof, there is the head of Optimus Prime!" Megatron pointed to the highest point in the Arena where the black lump of Optimus Prime's head was staked by a long metal spear. "To celebrate our victory, we will watch the last Autobot be destroyed by the Drillers! And we will watch the wretched human who caused all of this fight for her pathetic, weak life!" He roared before jabbing a claw towards a large metal door just off to the side. Anna hadn't noticed it before but it didn't matter any more. "Release the Reavers!"

The door clanged before shooting upward and the horrible screeches that haunted Anna's dreams were released as the filthy, ragged and insane men of nightmares came running out. They were looking frantically around for what was going on. There were about ten of them.

And then they spotted Anna just fifty yards away.

Screaming insanely, all ten Reavers began running towards her, snatching up weapons that littered the ground all around them. Anna quickly climbed to her feet and backed away, fear striking through her. She was about to face her death by the ones who terrified her.

"Anna! Get your ass moving! Don't just stand there!" She heard Hardcore Eddie yelled from where he was confined. "Fight!"

"Yeah!" Tiny yelled. "Defend yourself, girl!"

Anna shot them a glance before giving them a nod. She knew they were right. She couldn't just die in fear like she was feeling. She needed to prove to herself that she was strong. And it was time to stop being afraid. Her face set in stone, though deep down there was fear, she frantically looked around for the nearest weapon and spotted a spear not lying too far away from her. The blade at the end was most likely once a double sided sword once but it was now tied down to a metal rod, if not welded to the rod.

The Reavers were nearly upon her now.

Anna gripped the spear tightly in her hands, her feet spread apart as she braced herself. She was going to do this. She merely glanced over her shoulder to see that Bumblebee was now dodging spindly tentacles that the Driller was trying to attack him with. He was tugging viciously at the chains wrapped around his arms, trying to pull them free. He was moving just fine, at least. He was rolling and dodging the tentacles without getting hit.

"ANNA! HEADS UP!" Fig yelled.

Anna jerked her head around to see the first Reaver coming at her. She gritted her teeth and scampered backwards to give herself more room before she swung the spear over her head before she swung it and slammed the blade against the Reaver's face. The Reaver staggered with blood already gushing down the side of his head before he fell to the ground, thrashing and screaming in pain.

More Reavers came at Anna, ignoring their fallen. Anna quickly began swinging the spear as hard and fast as she could, moving as the Reavers came to close. She lashed out a foot and kicked the nearest one in the chest, sending him sprawling to the ground.

Surprisingly, Decepticons cheered as they watched her fighting. They were surprised that she was managing to fight back but they were enjoying a good show at least. Anna kept moving and swinging the spear, letting the blade at the end stab or slash her attackers. She nearly came close to running into a blade that one of the Reavers were striking out at her with. She quickly spun on her heel, away from the blade. She was relieved when she didn't feel the sting of the blade. She had moved just in time.

Five minutes had passed since she began taking on these Reavers and soon she realized that she had taken on the last one. She was nearly out of breath by that time. She had slammed the end of her spear into the Reaver's chest, sending him sprawling to the ground before she looked around for the next.

But there was none.

Yet.

"Release more!" Megatron boomed, not sounding pleased that she hadn't fallen yet.

The door clanged up again and this time, thirty had come out. They came out screaming and screeching, running towards Anna. She stood up straight, holding the spear at ready. She was out of breath but she couldn't afford wearing out….

Suddenly, Bumblebee was all over the Reavers, rolling right over them while trying to dodge the Driller. He didn't even seem to notice that he just crushed a bunch of insane humans. Some of them had escaped from being run over by him, still running at Anna. But at least the numbers were cut down in half. Anna wasn't sure if Bumblebee had realized what he had done until he quickly glanced over his shoulder at her. Only then did she realize that he didn't consider the Reavers human any more.

And they really weren't.

A smirk on her face, Anna gave him a nod of thanks before she readied herself again. She was going to do this. She was going to keep fighting until she bested every single one of the Reavers. Tearing them down like this, she wasn't feeling afraid any more.

Just then, there was a surprised roar from some Decepticons.

Anna didn't have time to see what had surprised them before the Reavers came at her. But she was sure surprised when a few able bodies ran right past her to meet the Reavers. She stiffened in surprise as she saw all of the men she had befriended snatching up weapons and starting to attack the Reavers. "Wha-what?" She gasped before whirling around to look at the door to the Pits.

Surprisingly the grated doors were open and Barricade was smirking as he had his hand leaning up against the side, where she could see the control panel. He feint surprise, looking at it before shrugging as if it weren't a big deal. "Whoops. I so didn't mean to do that." He said out loud before shooting a smirk towards Anna.

Her mouth spreading out into a smile, Anna nodded her gratitude to him before she whirled back around just in time to see a Reaver coming at her. She thrust the spear forward, shoving the blade hard into the Reaver's chest and sending him flying back to the ground.

"WHAT THE FRAG IS THIS?" Megatron suddenly boomed out, clearly pissed off. "BARRICADE! WHAT DID YOU JUST DO?" Barricade only shrugged towards the show box where Megatron was sitting. He seemed to be speaking to the Decepticon Leader, making up some excuse. It didn't make Megatron any happier.

Snarling in rage, Megatron was on his feet, shooting looks all around the arena at what looked like the Pretenders. The order went through and Pretenders began jumping into the Arena and charged at all of the humans.

Suddenly, there was a loud snap and Bumblebee jerked his arms free from the chains. He was immediately jumping on the Driller and began ripping metal right out of the thrashing worm. He threw metal everywhere, clearly aiming at the Pretenders that jumped into the Arena. Several went flying as soon as they were hit by the metal. Some of them snarled and charged at him instead.

Bumblebee just kept attacking the Driller, literately ripping it apart. He only lashed out at the Pretenders when they came too close.

Anna just smirked as she turned to face a Pretender that came at her. She knew this was a dangerous game she was playing with them. They were more dangerous than Reavers. But she was up for a challenge. She saw all of her friends fighting and bashing them with their weapons. Even Fig was doing just fine and he was the most unstable on his feet. He had a large battle axe in his hands and was swinging it right at the Pretenders that came at him. He was doing a lot better than she thought he would have.

Hardcore Eddie had two hatchets in his hands and was basically a spinning black top as he sliced them into Pretenders.

This was starting to get good.

Anna grinned as she spun the spear in her fingers, slamming the end into the Pretenders' chest, remembering the spot that Alice had stabbed Stevens. She was only too glad that it was working. The entire Arena was a vicious battle field and it was just making the Decepticons in the stands going wild with cheers and roars. They were really enjoying this show.

Too bad Megatron wasn't enjoying himself.

Snarling in rage, the Decepticon Leader was on his feet, slamming his claws onto the side of the box, making Spike flinch away but the boy was still grinning as he watched Anna totally kick ass with all of these men that were helping her. Even Sam was cheering them on, yelling and shaking the bars of his cage.

"ENOUGH! OBSIDIAN! KILL THEM ALL! START WITH THE GIRL!" Megatron roared angrily.

Anna felt her breath catch in her chest as she quickly looked up at Megatron and then over at Obsidian as he was already starting towards her, his cannon spinning to life. She stepped back, knowing that there was no way to escape that one.

Suddenly, there was a loud boom and missile shot across the arena, slamming into Obsidian's head, causing his body to jerk before heavily falling to the side. His head had exploded as soon as the missile hit it, leaving nothing but scrap metal sitting on his shoulders.

Everything went quiet for a moment, everything went quiet as everyone was startled by what just happened to Obsidian. Then eyes quickly spun, following the trail of smoke the missile had left behind until it stopped right next to Megatron, who also looked alarmed. Everyone stared in shock to see that Starscream had his arm raised and the end of his missile launcher was smoking. His eyes were coldly on Megatron while the smirk on his face was just as cold.

"Starscream? What do you think you're doing?" Megatron roared, now swinging a claw to hit him.

Kicking hard off the ground, Starscream was out of the box and landing hard in the arena, making the ground shake from the force of his landing. He had landed near Anna, jerking his arm up again towards her and making her gasp, as well as everyone else. He fired his Gatling gun.

But instead of hitting Anna, the hundreds of bullets that sprouted out of his gun slammed into Pretenders that had been coming at her, shredding them into pieces of metal.

Anna could only stare up at her former master with wide eyes. "St-Star…St-Starscream?" She asked in shock.

"STARSCREAM! WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?" Megatron roared as he glared down at him.

Starscream lazily looked up at him, his cannons and Gatling gun still smoking from being used. He lift his head up high as if he was proud. The smirk had not even left his face for one second. "Do you really think I would let my prized human die? The one human who means more to me than this wretched war you keep raging? You really think I will let the one human child die that I raised, myself? And do you really think I could have killed Optimus Prime?" He boomed right back.

Everyone stiffened with surprise.

"The answer is fragging no, Mega-scum!"

A gasp escaped Anna as soon as she heard that voice. She whirled around with wide eyes and felt her breath catch in her chest. She couldn't believe it. She couldn't believe that she was seeing HIM standing on the top of the Arena wall. And Ironhide wasn't the only one she could see.

Alongside him, Optimus Prime stood near the black lump of metal on the stake, pulling it right off and holding it up, along with his Energon blade. On both sides of him and Ironhide, the Autobots climbed up into view.

They were all alive.

And so were all of the humans. Anna saw her father standing on Ironhide's shoulder, an assault rifle in his hands and ready to use, along with all of the DATAR.


	29. Chapter 29

Anna felt her heart start pounding heavily as she felt a delighted smile curl across her face as she looked up at all of the Autobots standing on the Arena wall. She couldn't believe that they were alive! And her father and her friends! They were all safe and sound! They were there! They were alive!

The thought caught like the breath did in her throat as she let it dawn on her. She had thought that the Autobots, her father and friends were dead. Starscream had told her and all of the Decepticons that they were gone. Bumblebee had made her think that all she loved were dead. She looked up at Starscream with wide eyes before looking over at Bumblebee, who had finished ripping all of the internal wires from the Driller's head. It was now as motionless as the headless Obsidian. "Bum-Bumblebee! Starscream! But….But I thought….." Anna started to say.

"WHAT? THE AUTOBOTS?" Megatron's own loud, boisterous voice boomed out her own. He sure looked shocked and quite pissed off. "STARSCREAM! WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS? YOU SAID THAT…!"

Starscream stood up straighter, his arms still slightly lifted and ready for action for whenever it was going to come. He was not going to put down his guard. "I lied, Oh Mighty Megatron." He spoke up very sarcastically. "As I just told you, I will not allow Anna to die. I made a deal with Optimus Prime and the Autobots that I would work with them if they helped me save her. Believe me. They were just as surprised that I would make such an agreement with them as you are."

"In deed. It did surprise us." Optimus Prime spoke up, glancing at Starscream. "I never would have imagined that a human would have gotten to someone like Starscream." He then looked over at Megatron, all serious and warrior like again. "But if we wanted to find Anna and Spike, alive, we didn't have much of a choice."

Megatron growled angrily as he glared daggers at Starscream. "BUT THE RECORDING! THAT LUMP OF METAL IN PRIME'S HAND! IT'S….." He was saying again.

Snorting, the Autobot Hound carefully maneuvered himself to Optimus Prime's side and held out his hand for it. He received it before holding up as he pried at something on it. The entire head flickered before the image of Optimus Prime's face flickered out of view, revealing someone else's big metal head. "It's Soundwave's head. His head is about the same size as Optimus'. That's the best thing about being me." The Autobot said rather smugly. "I am the Master of Holographic Images. I invented the Imagers, of course. All it took was a little programming, a little messing around and voila! We have Soundwave's head looking just like Optimus'. That went the same for the recording. If you would have remembered, Mega-breath, the recording was of Starscream, Thundercracker and Skywarp attacking us. You were looking right at them. Recordings usually are taken from the same point of view of the Cybertronian recording them. Starscream was recording it, yet he was seen in the recording of the attack. It's all logical, really. You just got to think about it."

"But….." Anna said, looking stunned. "Thundercracker and Skywarp said….."

There was a whoosh of jet engines before the two spoken dropped down right beside Starscream, cannons out and ready. They didn't look too pleased about this but they were determined to stand beside their aerial brother. "And we were apart of it. Starscream did contact us about being attacked by the Autobots. But when we got there," Thundercracker explained stonily. "He made it very clear what his intentions were. As Aerial Brothers go, he did threaten us that if we didn't stand with him, he would just stand by and allow the Autobots to deactivate us."

Skywarp nodded, looking at Starscream. "Fortunately for him, we really stand with him above any one else. We won't stand by and watch him fight along side our enemies and end up a scrap pile. He fights, we fight. We stand with Starscream, no matter what he does." He spoke up.

Starscream looked back up at a very pissed off Megatron. "The ending conclusion," He spoke coldly, yet there smugness laced within his tone. "I am helping the Autobots get rid of you and save my human. Believe me, we did have a few head bashings with one another about the entire situation."

To confirm that, Ironhide growled, shooting Starscream a rather nasty look. He wasn't the only one. Even the twins, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker growled, as did Will. None of the four looked happy that they had to work with Starscream.

Snarling, Megatron glared directly at Optimus Prime, who remained un-wavered. "There are nearly thousands of Decepticons and a mere handful of you, Autobots and a few weak humans, Prime! Do you seriously think you can win this war?" He snarled.

Optimus Prime lift his head higher, not exactly answering. He just glanced to Starscream, who nodded and looked back up at Megatron. "Decepticons! I don't know about you but I've had enough of Megatron's tyranny! I know very well that there are several of you who think the same! Stand with me! Stand with me and fight alongside the Autobots and end this fragging war! I am getting sick of fighting in this fragging war that HE started!" He roared, jabbing a sharp claw towards Megatron. "Who will fight beside me and end this fragging war? Who will fight with me and the Autobots?"

For a moment there was only silence. No Decepticon spoke up as they murmured uneasily to one another in the stands, looking from one to the other. Several were glancing uneasily at Megatron, whose eyes were furiously red and he was looking like he was going to jump down from the show box any minute.

But then…

"I will fight with you, Starscream!"

Heads whipped around and several Decepticons gave startled murmurs to see Barricade now marching across the arena to stand right next to Starscream and his two Aerial brothers. He was glancing over his shoulder at Bumblebee, who just stood there watching him in return. "As long as I get to mess around with that Autobot bug, over there now and then, I will fight alongside him and end this fragging war. It's getting old fighting the Autobots all of the time anyway." He remarked loudly.

"If the Race Track Commander fights for the Autobots, then so shall I." Groundhog spoke up, now walking across the arena to join him. And right behind him came Rollerforce and Motorhead. They would not dare to go up against Barricade, not that they would. They were a team and they would stay a team. They always had followed him and they would follow him until they ended up deactivated.

Eventually, a few other Decepticons hopped down into the Arena, finding their courage to decide that they were tired of this war with the Autobots. Some of them even liked the humans so much that they hadn't liked the idea of destroying all of Earth.

Still, there were a whole lot more Decepticons facing the Autobots and rebelling Decepticons.

Growling, Megatron clenched his claws around the stony railing of his show box, cracking the stone. "That's it, Prime and Starscream?" He sneered. "This is your army to face and defy me? A handful of Autobots, humans and betrayers? You will die by the end of this wretched day."

"I think not, Brother." Optimus Prime spoke up before thrusting his Energon sword into the air. "Autobots, descend and join the battle for the freedom of Earth and its humans!"

Suddenly, there were a multiple metallic whooshes and heads jerked upward to look into the sky. A rain of metallic meteors were falling with trails of fire right behind them before crashing against the broken ground of Earth. Fire filled craters with glowing hot metal pods began to twist and turn as the new arrivals began making their transformations.

"As my younger brother tends to sprout out every single time we run into you, Megatron," a new, very deep voice spoke up as a massive Autobot climbing up onto the ridge of the Arena, just yards from Megatron's show box. It was about the same size as Megatron, himself, who was bigger than Optimus Prime. And he was a bloody red color with brilliant, blazing blue eyes glaring at the Decepticon Leader. "Two shall fight. One shall fall. Get ready for a good aft kicking!"

Megatron snarled when he saw the massive looking Autobot. "Ultra Magnus!" He whirled around and looked over the lip of the Arena, out into the city surrounding the entire stone bowl used for savage games. There were Autobots crawling out of their craters and already starting to engage with Decepticons that were out in the field. It was becoming a huge, epic battle. "Decepticons! We are under attack! Destroy all Autobots and humans! And even the traitors! Leave no one alive!" He roared before he began jumping down from his show box.

Unfortunately, he seemed to have forgotten, or didn't care, that Spike was still chained to his arm.

"SPIKE!" Anna gasped, seeing him getting jerked and nearly falling off right after Megatron.

Just then, there was a loud buzz saw sound and a snap of metal before someone grabbed a hold of Spike and pulled him back to safety before he could tumble to his death. To everyone's surprise, who didn't know, it was Wheelie and Blaster who had just rescued him.

Spike looked stunned to see them but happy nonetheless. "Wheelie!" He cried happily.

Grinning at him, Wheelie waved his little buzz saw arm that he had used to snap the chain connected to Megatron's arm. "Heya, kid! How ya doing?" He said very loudly.

Then all of hell broke loose.

Those of the Decepticons that were still standing with Megatron jumped down into the Arena and charged at the Autobots and rebelling Decepticons. Optimus Prime lead the Autobots into jumping into the arena to fight back and protect the humans.

Anna gripped her spear tightly in her hand as she saw Pretenders coming at her. She was going to do what she could to fight just like everyone else. She was going to defend herself from her enemies and prove that she was strong. She watched anxiously as one Pretender came at her, gun spinning into its arm and ready to fire at her.

But before it could fire, Starscream snarled and brought his foot heavily down on it, crushing into tin.

Blinking in surprise, Anna looked up at him as he twisted his foot, crushing it a little more. She couldn't believe that had had done this. He had risked everything now. All for her. "Starscream." She spoke up, getting his attention. "Why did you do this?"

Starscream stared down at her for a moment before he drew out a long sigh and bent down to one knee, carefully placing a claw right under her chin, keeping her face lift up towards him. "Because you mean more to me than you ever will know. I made mistakes, Anna. I did many things very wrong to you. I did things that nearly killed my Spark but I did them because of my fragging pride for myself. I was selfish and careless. But I never wanted to hurt you." He growled down at her. "From the moment I saw you as a Sparkling, with your femme creator, I wanted you…as my own Sparkling. That is one reason why I came to this planet, looking for Energon. To save my own world and make it where Sparklings can actually be created. Can be born." He shook his head. "But everything…..it all changed because of you. I saw you and I wanted to be what I knew I couldn't."

Anna felt herself grow in awe as she looked up at him. She honestly didn't know what to say. She could see the truth in those fiery red eyes of her former master's. But everything that she had been through, everything that he had done, she couldn't ever know if she could ever see him as a father as he wanted to be. Not after he always claimed to be her master. "I won't be your slave. Not anymore." She said with determination. "I don't want to be."

For a moment, nothing was said. But then the Seeker shook his head, a spark of pride in his fiery eyes. "No. You will never be a slave again. Not mine. No anyone's. You were never meant to be a slave. But a warrior. A soldier. I always saw that. You are your own master now. But no matter what you say, I claim you as my Sparkling. Human or not." He told her.

Feeling a smile growing on her face, Anna nodded. "You're not my dad or my Guardian." She told him firmly, making her voice very hard. She paused for a moment to see a little disappointment in Starscream's eyes flicker. "But you can be my friend." She told him, firmly, a faint smile curling onto her face. And she meant it.

Snorting, Starscream stood up swiftly. He actually looked satisfied enough with that. "I guess I can live with that. Now fight! Show my fellow Decepticons exactly what I have taught you." He barked, spinning to clash with a Decepticon that was lunging at him.

Grinning, Anna spun around to meet a Pretender that was leaping at her. She thrust her spear into its chest, halting its attack. She didn't kill it but she honestly didn't need to. She gritted her teeth, still smiling before roughly throwing the Pretender and the spear side wards away from her. She was running after it, swooping low to pick up a double sided blade from the ground. She felt so much pride within herself as she charged at the Pretender, the blade tightly clenched into her hand. She leapt at it, brushing past the spear handle until she collided her knees against its metal frame. She used her entire weight to throw it backwards onto the ground, coming down hard on top of it before slashing at it's throat with the blade.

The Pretender screeched painfully before it began to thrash around and knocked Anna right off, sending her rolling in the dirt. It was swearing up a storm as it clutched at its throat before trying to lash out at Anna. Anna rolled away from it, trying to make sure it didn't slash her with its thrashing claws. She was on her feet, gripping the blade in her hands, watching it carefully for its next move.

But before the Pretender could even try and crawl towards her, someone slammed down on its back, pinning it down before grabbing its head and ripping it off.

Anna blinked and looked up only to smile slyly to see Alice smirking at her as she tossed the Pretender's head off to the side. "Alice, you made it to my party. Having fun yet?" She asked casually.

Smirking right back at her, Alice stood up before whirling around, her human image melting away as another Pretender came in to attack her. She whipped up her arm, which shifted into a ray blaster before she fired and sent it flying into the air again. "Yup! Great party, Anna! And guess what? You and I are the life of it!" She said loudly over the loud booms, clashing metal and gunfire of the DATAR's rifles. Then Alice whipped around, holding out her hand towards Anna.

Grinning back at her, Anna nodded as she thrust her hand into Alice's, gripping her wrist. She got the idea what the Pretender wanted to do. She made sure to grip her wrist as tightly as she could, knowing it wasn't going to hurt the Decepticon Pretender.

Clutching Anna's tightly but not too tight that it would break her bones, Alice whipped her around and swung her like a mace. She lashed Anna out at a Pretender, watching with satisfaction as the young human's feet slammed into a Pretender's face, sending it spinning away from both of them. Alice let Anna drop back to her feet, both still clutching arms and watching as a blast from the side engulfed the Pretender, making it slam far across the Arena wall just fifty yards away.

Both looked over to see who had shot the Pretender and Anna grinned to see Ironhide blasting Decepticons left and right as he made his way over to them. Next to him, Will was shooting at Pretenders while the Autobots were taking care of the larger Decepticons. "Daddy!" She cheered.

Will's head jerked around and he saw her. His breath caught for a moment before he raced towards Anna, which she did the same. They both met each other, arms tightly wrapped around each other. They tightly hugged each other, tears in their eyes. "Annabelle! God damn it! I thought I lost you again!" Will said, his chest hitching as he held his daughter.

Both Ironhide and Alice were keeping up their guard, shooting and attacking any Decepticons or Pretenders that came too close to their human friends.

Anna pulled away from her father, a few spare tears trailing down her cheeks. "I'm sorry, daddy! I know I promised that I would stay by you and Ironhide but…..it's just….." She was saying.

Will shook his head as he captured Anna's face with his hands, planting a kiss on her forehead. "It doesn't matter any more! As long as you're okay!" He then studied her face, wincing seeing some of the bruises and cuts that she had. "What the hell happened….?" He was asking. "Why is your face…?"

Anna shook her head, grimacing. "Just an asshole in the Pits who thought he could beat me up and attack me." She then let a wide grin spread on her face. "I kicked his ass though before Barricade killed him." She said brightly.

Grinning, Will nodded before he gripped his gun tightly in his hand. "That's my girl! Now let's kick some more ass!" He barked before taking pot shots off of Pretenders. He quickly grabbed a gun stuck into the back of his pants, handing it to Anna. "Remember how to use this?"

Nodding sharply, Anna as she took it and quickly took the safety off the gun and then checked the clip for how many bullets that was in it. She nodded in satisfaction before gripping it with one hand and aiming at a Pretender, shooting it right between the eyes. The impact caused the Pretender's head to explode and metal shards went flying everywhere. "Yup! Hey, Ironhide! Glad you could make it!" She called up to the giant black Autobot.

Shooting her a smirk, Ironhide blasted a Decepticon across the Arena where one of the twins sliced him in half, letting the two halves fall to the ground. "Hey, kid! Glad you're aft is still intact!" He barked before spinning around and kicking another Decepticon hard in the chest, sending him flying backwards where he was grabbed roughly by the Autobot called Mirage, who thrust an Energon blade through his chest. "I didn't want to come here to find you deactivated. That would have really pissed me off."

Grinning, Anna nodded. "That's okay! As long as you are here! I mean, you are my Guardian, aren't you?" She yelled as she shot a Pretender who was flying towards Maggie and Glenn as they shot at Decepticons, ending it's charge. She was all too satisfied when Ironhide's Sparkmate, Chromia zoomed towards it and destroyed it with a cannon blast to its face, causing its head to explode.

"Fragging right!" Ironhide boomed before he spun around and slammed a huge fist into another Decepticon's face, sending it staggering backwards away from him. He ended it by shooting it viciously in the chest with his large cannon.

Not too far away, two thundering booms rocked the entire ground as the two massive Leaders faced one another, glaring at each other. Megatron growled nastily as he faced Optimus Prime, who remained calm and stoic like as he faced his once old frienemy. "Prime! You will regret the day you ever arrived here, intending to take my empire from me!" The Decepticon Leader snarled.

Slowly shaking his head, Optimus Prime held up his Energon sword, readying himself. "You will regret coming to Earth and harming these people, Megatron. I will see to that. The pain you have caused, the devastation, these sentient beings did not deserve what you have brought to them." He spoke calmly.

"You did not see this wretched planet when we came here, Prime! If you would have see what kind of hatred and self-loathing the Earth people have brought to their very own kind! They were killing each other with wars! Murdering each other for foolish reasons! Stealing, lying! These pathetic creatures do not deserve your pity! Or mine!" Megatron roared.

Again, Optimus Prime shook his head. "No. I did not see what kind of world this planet was before you touched them. But I do know enough that they were not, are not very different from our own kind. They actually came together to defend their world from you. They found side by side to save their own kind. Just like we once did. And now, your own mechs, your own Decepticons are defying you to save the ones they had tortured because they have had enough! The humans have goodness inside of them! I have only been Earth bound for two weeks and I saw that in them! They have the right to choose for their selves! As does Starscream and the Decepticons who defy you!" He snapped right back.

Snarling, Megatron lunged forward to attack. He had had enough of talk. He knew it was no use trying to convince Optimus Prime otherwise, as the same was from the Autobot Leader. They slammed into each other and began their own battle.

The lock on the cage snapped as Blaster finally broke through it, releasing Sam. The moment that he was freed, the man rushed to his son and yanked him into a tight embrace. He quickly withdrew again when Spike hissed in pain. He just had to glance at his son's back to know why he was in so much pain. The black etching's of Megatron's Cybertronian name glared at him from between Spike's shoulder blades, matching the very one that was on his lower back. He grimaced before glaring with hate at the marking.

Oh, was Samuel James Witwicky pissed off now.

"I'm going to kill him!" Sam growled as he gently touched Spike's new tattoo and withdrew his fingers again when his son groaned in pain. "Megatron is mine! I will rip him to pieces!"

Spike shook his head as he quickly pulled away from his father and gripped his hands. He looked rather excited and frantic about it. "Dad, don't worry about Megatron! Let Optimus take him! There's something that you gotta know! The source of Megatron's power! The thing that makes him almost invincible! The All Spark! I know where it is!" He said quickly.

Sam, Blaster and Wheelie stiffened in surprise, looking at him. They hadn't been expecting that at all. "What? Where is it?" All three gasped.

Grinning, Spike told them.

The battle was turning pretty ugly in and out of the Cyber Games Arena. Decepticons who followed Megatron were littered all over the ground, making it hard for humans and Cybertronians to move. Human warriors had finally joined the battle, destroying the Pretenders that tried to harm their fellow human beings. While no Autobots did not fall like their enemies did, or even some of the humans, they did receive some pretty bad injuries, making it harder for them to move. But none of them gave into their injuries, allowing their selves to fall.

During the fray, Epps had found himself surrounded by Pretenders and he was starting to running out of ammo. He was starting to get a little strained by it all. He was finding himself starting to slow down. He realized it when one Pretender clipped his side with a claw, making him yell out in pain and fury as he whirled around to shoot it right the face.

Click.

"Oh shit!" Epps exclaimed when he realized that his rifle was empty.

The Pretender sneered as it also realized that he was now weaponless and started to move forward to finish him off. It knew that it was going to be harder to take it down when this human didn't have anything to defend himself. He sneered at the irony as the human braced himself, tossing the gun to the side and whipping out a large boonie knife to defend himself. Okay, so the human wasn't completely weaponless. But it would matter. It was going to rip his arms out of its sockets.

Suddenly there was a loud thunk and a screech of metal hitting metal before its eyes snapped wide open before flickering dead.

Epps stiffened as soon as he saw the Pretender fall forward, crashing to the ground with a hatchet lodged into its head. He blinked at it several times before lifting his eyes to see who was responsible for attacking the Pretender and helping him out. And then a wide grin spread out on his face as he recognized the equally wide grin on the other large black man's face. "Holy. Shit! Eddie, that you?"

"No, it's me. The black Jesus Christ. Of course it's me, Epps!" Hardcore Eddie said before he slammed a foot on the Pretender's back and ripped his hatchet right back out of its head.

"And you better count us." Came that drawl that Epps recognized. He only had to smirk towards Ames, shaking his head.

Of course, seeing Fig, however, stunned him.

"Fig? Are you fucking kidding me? You are still alive?" Epps asked completely surprised.

Fig grinned as he gripped his huge battle axe with both hands and then nodded. He understood completely why Epps was so shocked. The last time they had even seen one another, he, Fig, had been on a stretcher, aboard a military plane, dying from the wound that Scorponok had given him. "Si, Senior Bobby." And then he began sprouting out words in Spanish, knowing how much Epps hated it.

Face falling, Epps had to glare at him. "Dude, quit fucking talking in Spanish. You know I don't speak it!" But then he grinned. "But I'm dying to know how the fuck you're still alive!" He added.

"Tell ya later, Bobby! We got some fucking robots to…" Fig was saying. But he was violently cut off.

Suddenly, his body jerked forward before something exploded right out of his chest, sending blood spraying right into Epps' face. He gave a startled choke as he looked down at the center of his chest and saw a long thin piece of sharp metal protruding through him. "Puta madre." He muttered before the blade was ripped right back out of him.

Belonging to Scorponok himself as he burst out of the ground.

"FUCK! FIG!" Epps, Hardcore Eddie, and all of the men roared in shock and rage. They watched in horror as Fig fell to his knees, dropping the battle axe next to him, blood now running down from his mouth and the front of his dirty, ripped up shirt.

And hearing the exclaimation, Anna whirled around to see what was going on and her breath caught painfully in her throat. "No." She whispered with horror.


	30. Chapter 30

Anna felt her heart nearly stop as she looked on with horror. She felt her feet move before she could even think about it. She rushed past scraps of metal piles to run over to Fig's fallen side. She was not the only one who had joined their fallen friend. Epps and Hardcore Eddie were at her side, dropping down to their knees in the now blood soaked ground. The others had already jumped in to engage with Scorponok and distract it while the other three dealt with their obviously dying friend.

"Fig! Oh, my god!" Anna began to sob as she laid the hand gun down beside her and looked over her friend. She could see the gaping wound in his chest and it made her sick to her stomach. There was so much blood and she could nearly see his insides. She felt bile rising in her throat but she fought it back down. "Shit! Hold on, okay? We'll get you patched up!"

Fig choked and gagged on the blood spilling from his mouth but he did his best to shaking his head. "No. Do-don't worry….bout me, girl. There's…there's no way to fix this…." He choked.

Epps shook his head as he immediately pressed his hands down on the wound, trying to keep the blood from spilling any more. "Fuck that, Fig! We ain't letting you die, man! Just hold on! We got a great doctor who can fix you!" He spun his head around, looking for Ratchet, who was locked in battle with a Decepticon called Hook. "Ratchet! Hey! Ratchet!" He called, trying to get his attention.

But Fig reached up with a shaking hand and touched Epps' shoulder, getting his attention again. He was having a hard time breathing with a hole in his chest. The long ass needle that Scorponok had used to punch a hole through him had definitely struck through a lung and he could feel it filling up with blood. It wasn't going to be too long before he would drown. "No….fo-forget it…Bobby…I'm…..de-dead…..and you…fucking…know…..it." he managed to choke out past all of the blood. His eyes looked weakly from one person to the next before just falling onto Anna. "An-Anna…you're…a tough…..girl. Kick…..some…..ass for….me…" He told her weakly.

Anna shook her head, tears spilling from her eyes and trailing down her cheeks. She didn't want to do this without him. He had tried to protect her. She had tried to save him from Sideways. And now…..he was dying very painfully. "N-no. Fig, you can't…..I can't…" She was saying, but the pain in her throat was too hard to get the words out. "Fig…."

A raspy gasp and choke escaped Fig as he scrunched his eyes shut as a wave of pain rolled over him. He was shaking rather violently, feeling the final tremors running through him. "Fuck!" He cursed before opening his eyes. "Anna…you can…...and you will….You are…ju-just…..like your…..pa…You….were…..bo-born…..to lead…so lead." He said weakly before his body gave a few jerky spasms and then his eyes went blank.

None of the three; Anna, Epps or Hardcore Eddie had to be told that Fig was gone.

For a moment, they just sat there, looking at the dead look in Fig's eyes. They didn't want to just leave him lying there. They wanted him to some how magically heal himself and be up on his feet, sprouting swear words in Spanish. They wanted him to be alive. They didn't want him to just die.

But it wasn't going to happen.

Anna sobbed heavily, her hands reaching up and covering her face. She had had so many losses in her life and she wasn't sure she could take any more. She couldn't take this! This was getting out of control! She couldn't lose any more friends! Or family! She refused to do this again! And again! Never!

Her hands lowered from her face, her eyes hardening. She had had enough of this. She was not going to lose any more people.

"Fuck." Epps hissed under his breath as he took his blood soaked hands away from Fig's chest. He grimaced looking down at them before shaking his head and doing his best to just wipe the blood off. "Fucking hell! I can't believe this is happening. AGAIN!" He snarled before turning away and glaring at the giant metal scorpion who was whipping his tail and snapping his claws at the humans attacking it. "By the same god damned Decepticon! Dude! You are so fucking going down!"

Hardcore Eddie, his face just as hard as Epps', spun around, holding the hatchets tightly in his hands and quickly followed after him.

It just surprised both of them when Anna was quick to joining them. They both looked at the tear streaked but determined look on her face, knowing exactly that she felt the same way they did. They had to give her a smile before they rushed right at Scorponok.

Scorponok was in the process of knocking some of the humans right off their feet with his tail when a whooshing sound came through the air before something sharp struck the side of his neck. He squealed in his metallic voice before whirling around to see who had just struck him. He nearly didn't get to see who it was before the humans were right on him.

It had been Hardcore Eddie who had struck Scorponok by throwing one of his hatchets hard at the metallic scorpion. It had struck him in the neck, startling him from attacking the others and turning his attention onto them as they came charging at him. It was enough for someone big and heavy to drop right down on top of the metal scorpion, pinning him down. All of the humans attacking him yelped in alarm and stepped back but then relaxed to see Jetfire.

"You are deactivated!" Jetfire snarled before slamming his cannon against his head.

"Wait!" Epps called and surprisingly, Jetfire listened. He shook his head looking rather murderously at the metal scorpion. "He's ours, Jetfire. He killed our friend and now he's going to pay."

For a moment, Jetfire considered his words before nodding. He understood what the humans were feeling. "All right. But I'm going to make this fight even for you." He whirled around and grabbed the thrashing tail that was continuously slamming against his back. He used his other hand to punch hard through it, severing it. Scorponok screeched in pain and rage as he continued to thrash, just a little more violently. "Now, it's even. But if it gets out of hand, I'm taking over."

Epps and the humans all nodded as they watched Jetfire step off of Scorponok, who tried to lash out at the Legendary Seeker. But as soon as the jet transformer was in the clear, all of them began lashing at the Decepticon with their weapons again, getting his attention.

Anna, Epps, Hardcore Eddie and the humans made sure to surround Scorponok first before they began attacking him. They all moved as fast as they could towards him and began slashing at him with their blades, trying to aggravate him. They were all showing their rage for this thing. It had killed Fig and they were going to make it pay.

Screeching in rage, the giant metal scorpion tried lashing out at them, swinging his sharp pinchers at them. He was out numbered but not out matched, exactly. So he wasn't going to retreat like his sensors were screaming at him to do. He snarled as he tried to bat the humans away but they were moving as fast they could in and out. They were more like buzzing bugs flying around him.

"Watch the pinchers, guys! Don't let him hit you!" Epps yelled as he rushed forward with a blade in hand and slashed one of Scorponok's legs, earning a near lash out by it.

Anna nodded as she remained back, watching for the right moment. She watched carefully as all of the men continued to rush the metal scorpion and attacked it. She knew she was going to need to be careful of how to make her own attack. One wrong move could get her hurt badly or even killed. And she wanted to be the one who made the final blow to it. She gritted her teeth as she watched all of her friends just annoy the Decepticon. She couldn't find the right moment until….

There!

Anna had been watching Scorponok's pointy feet, watching as they moved and slammed into the ground. She saw a certain pattern to the way he was moving and came up with an idea. If she was right, and she prayed to God that she was, she could end this thing.

Gritting her teeth and clutching her blade in hand, Anna began to propel herself forward as fast as she could, letting her legs pump as hard as she could. She saw some of her friends look at her in alarm and some even froze for a moment until they nearly got smacked by the metal scorpion's claws. She didn't pay them any attention. She needed to concentrate as hard as she could. She couldn't allow herself to make a mistake, or it would kill her.

"Annabelle!" She heard her father call out from the distance. He obviously saw what she was doing and knew how dangerous it was going to be.

But Anna blocked out everything as she raced towards Scorponok, who was barely starting to notice that everyone's attention was on her. He whipped his head around to look at her before snarling at her approach. He snapped a claw towards her, trying to strike her.

However, Anna moved as quickly as she could, barrel rolling forward so it would pass right over her. It nearly clipped her and she felt a few strands of her hair catch in the metal, snapping as she rolled. She ignored the sharp tug from her hair as she rolled right under Scorponok onto her back and looked straight up at its exposed under side.

Clenching her blade tight in her hands, Anna thrust the blade sharply upward and slammed the sharp tip right into the center, where she could see a thin blue glow between the metal plates. The blade struck hard between the metal and into Scorponok's chest.

An ear piercing screech emitted from Scorponok as his entire body contracted, his legs scrunching and nearly crushing Anna under him. He was still holding himself up on his legs, though his thrashing was getting rather dangerous as the young teen girl quickly began rolling across the ground to get out from under him. She gasped as one sharp pointed leg nearly stepped on her, stopping just a few inches from her face. She rolled the other way and found another leg stopping her retreat.

"Shit." Anna hissed as she looked up at the thrashing scorpion, seeing him starting to collapse right on top of her.

Suddenly, two hands grabbed Scorponok by the right side and he was flipped violently over onto his back, saving Anna from getting crushed from under him. A hand snatched her right off the ground and she found herself being quashed, gently though, against a warm but battle worn chest. She looked up with a soft gasp, but felt her heart beating rapidly as soon as she saw the black and yellow color or Bumblebee. He was clutching her gently to his chest, with his battle mask down over his face and glaring at Scorponok, who was on his back. The metal scorpion's legs were thrashing violently in the air, as sparks were exploding out of his chest where Anna had stabbed him.

"Bumblebee." Anna said breathless, a smile making itself on her face. Bumblebee tilted his head down so he could peer at her through his eye slits before they slid upward so she could look at his face. He clicked and beeped at her in Cybertronian and she smiled at him. "I'm okay. Thanks." She said softly.

The soft look Bumblebee gave her was almost too warm as the Autobot tucked his other hand under her and he bent his head down to nuzzle her fondly.

Anna laughed as she rubbed her hands against Bumblebee's metal face before pressing her forward against his. She looked into his eyes, smiling softly at him. "You really are amazing, you know that?" She whispered to him, earning a softer look from him. She then tore her eyes away from her big friend as she heard the terrible screeching from Scorponok. She grimaced as she watched him thrash against the ground as his legs scrunched together before he went still.

"Awesome, Anna! You just took out Scorponok!" Hardcore Eddie cheered, along with the others.

"Don't you start celebrating now!" Jetfire roared as he lashed out and engaged with another Decepticon coming at them. He slammed his cane against its head, knocking it side wards before shooting it with his cannon. "We still got a battle here!"

Everyone's smiles faded as there seriousness of the fight came back to their reality. They knew this was far from over. There were still a lot of Decepticons attacking the Autobots, humans and even the so called Decepticon traitors. It was getting worst. Everyone could see Megatron and Optimus Prime going at it and it was becoming very fierce. Humans were already starting to fall, even as the Autobots were doing everything they could to protect them and watching their own backs in the process. It was getting out of hand.

"Damn it." Epps hissed between his teeth. "This is getting us no where. Even the Autobots are struggling to end this."

"How are we going to end this fight?" Hardcore Eddie asked as he went over to the fallen Scorponok and yanked his hatchet free from his neck. "There's just too many Cons, man."

Anna felt just as troubled as the others did. She knew this was getting them no where, really. There were too many Decepticons against them and the many Autobots, along with Starscream and his Decepticons. And by the looks of it, Optimus Prime was struggling in the battle with Megatron. They really needed a miracle right about now. Something needed to change right at this moment. True, the Autobots were kicking some aft. But there were just too many Decepticons to fight.

"OPTIMUS!"

Anna's head whirled around, along with several others. They were surprised to see Sam and Spike both jumping up and down on the balcony where Megatron had been sitting with Starscream. They were looking excited about something.

Optimus Prime heard Sam yelling out to him but couldn't tear his eyes away from Megatron just yet. He brought his Energon sword down to swipe at his adversary, forcing him to back away so that he could quickly spin backwards away from him. He jerked his head towards Sam and Spike before having to look back at Megatron, keeping up his guard. He sent a quick transmission to Blaster, seeing that he and Wheelie had been with the two humans. 'What is it, Blaster? I am a little occupied at the moment?' He sent to his Autobot Communications officer.

'Optimus Prime! Spike has just revealed that he knows where the All Spark is!' Blaster sent right back.

Eyes widening a little, Optimus Prime had to move quickly to avoid getting shot by Megatron's ray gun, allowing the blast to strike against the wall behind him. 'What? Where is it?' He pried as he spun in a full circle to get behind Megatron and slash his thick metal armor and enraging him further.

'Spike said that its with Megatron! He carries it with him at all times! That's why you're not doing too much damage to him right now! It's repairing him just as quickly as your injuring him! He said that it's in the right side of Megatron's chest, right next to his Spark Chamber!' Blaster quickly sent to the Autobot Leader.

Frowning seriously, Optimus Prime knew that was going to be a tough move to make. If Megatron was carrying the All Spark and it was repairing him just as quickly as he was slashing him, he would need to get it away from him. He knew it was going to be tough. But he still had to try. The fate of Earth and it's people rest on him and the Autobots and the betraying Decepticons. Just by glancing around, he could see humans dying while trying to defeat their long time enemies. He knew that if it didn't end right now, more people were going to die and he couldn't allow that.

But what to do to get the All Spark away from Megatron?

Well…..there was one thing he could try.

Dipping his head down low, Optimus Prime quickly backed away from Megatron and kept doing so as the Decepticon Leader advanced on him.

"Retreating then, Prime?" Megatron sneered at him. "Like a cowardly Autobot that you are! I always knew that you didn't have it in you to defeating me! You and your foolish idealistic plans were always weak!"

"Not retreating, Megatron." Optimus Prime called over, calmly before he braced himself and rushed forward. "Receiving!"

Megatron's eyes widened as he watched the Autobot charge him. He growled viciously, waiting for the attack to come right at him. He had been expecting something like this. It was what they have been doing this entire time. Charging and attacking. What else was new? "Foolish Prime! What kind of surprise attack is that?" He snarled, bringing up his claws to swing at Otpimus Prime as he came very close.

And then skidded to a stop, yanking backwards again to stop the charge.

"A pretty damn good one, if you ask me." Came the voice of that pitiful Autobot, Mirage.

Suddenly, something grabbed Megatron by the front of his chest armor and yanked very hard, earning a painful and angry snarl from him. He didn't even have a chance to knock that invisible Autobot idiot away as he tore open his chest armor. But he sure sent him flying afterward. His claws struck Mirage, sending him flying backwards, but not without injury. His sharp claws had sliced into the Autobot's side, causing his illusionary field to make him look invisible to disrupt. Sparks began running along Mirage's entire body as he went crashing to the ground, groaning from pain. It was a pretty nasty blow he had received by Megatron.

But the effect had been successful.

With Megatron snarling down at Mirage, Optimus Prime found the opening he'd been looking for.

Rushing forward again with Megatron's distraction, the Prime threw his fist hard against his arch nemesis' chest and between his chest plates. It obviously got Megatron's attention, making him jerk back to snarl at him and roughly grab him by the shoulders, digging his claws into him. "What the frag do you think you're doing, Prime?" He snarled.

"Taking something that does not belong to just you but to all Cybertronians!" Optimus Prime yelled back as he closed his fingers around something that he knew did not belong inside of Megatron's chest. He yanked back as hard as he could, ripping out the square shaped All Spark and allowing his shoulders plates to be sliced open as he threw himself backwards. "NOW, STARSCREAM!" He yelled as he stumbled backwards away from Megatron.

Eyes widening in shock, Megatron saw the All Spark in Optimus Prime's closed hands. "NO!" He snarled before whipping his head around as Jetfire slammed down onto the ground behind him. He didn't even have a chance to defend himself as Starscream threw his claws forward as hard as he could, slamming it right through Megatron's back and through his Spark chamber.

Sparks and hot burning Energon exploded out of the Decepticon's chest, spraying the ground around him. Megatron roared in pain as he stumbled forward before whipping around on Starscream's arm. He snarled at him and lashed out, striking his former Second In Command across the face, nearly slashing his eyes out as he left a trail of long gashes across his face.

"Starscream!" Anna gasped as she slapped a hand over her mouth.

Starscream snarled in pain but didn't pull away as he looked Megatron right in the eyes. "I told you, Mighty Megatron, that I would be the one that would destroy you!" He snarled before he fired off his cannon and allowed the blast to slam through the Decepticon Leader. Metal exploded outward, flying everywhere as Megatron's Spark chamber was violently ruptured.

With a last effort, even with his burning eyes starting to flicker, Megatron raised his own cannon and slammed it against Starscream's own chest. "You fragging son of a…!" He growled as he started to fire.

But before he could even fire, Optimus Prime swung inward and brought his Energon blade down hard at the joint of Megatron's arm, slicing through it.

A moment later, the Decepticon Leader fell into a useless pile of metal, Energon still spilling from his broken and torn form. His eyes were still flickering violently but slowly fading. "Fool…..of a….Prime….now…..you….have…..to….deal…with…..hi…him…" He managed to say before he was completely deactivated.

And then the battles suddenly ceased, all Decepticons sensing Megatron's final down fall.

All eyes turned onto the broken and deactivated form of the Decepticon Leader. Most looking on with shock that he had actually been beaten. Some looked terrified that he had been destroyed. And some looked worriedly around at all of the Autobots still standing around them or at Optimus Prime. They knew that without their leader, they had no direction of authority. They knew that they were now at the mercy of the Autobots.

"What…..the name of Primus?" Suddenly Ratchet spoke up, looking directly at Optimus Prime.

Everyone blinked and tore their eyes away from Megatron, looking over at the Autobot Leader. Even he looked surprised as the All Spark was starting to glow brightly. He even felt a vibration within his chest plate, making him pop it open and take out the Matrix of Leadership with his other hand. Both of them were glowing brightly.

There came a metallic vibrating right behind him, causing him to turn. Everyone froze in alarm and shock as what looked like sparking ripples began to form, energy coming directly from the All Spark and the Matrix of Leadership.

And a strange sight just appeared right before them through the ripples.

A young teenage boy, who looked like he had been through a hellish battle was gawking right back at them with shock. His clothes were torn and tattered from whatever had been happening to him. Behind him, there was a battle field going on, but those on the battle field seemed to have been seeing what the boy was seeing and all looked on with shock.

All of them were the Autobots, their selves.

"Oh….my….god….." Sam breathed from the balcony, his eyes completely wide.

Spike glanced at him, frowning in surprise. "What, dad? What is that?" He asked him, looking completely confused.

Sam slowly shook his head as he gawked at the teenage boy, who was looking around the devastation before him with alarm. He couldn't believe his eyes by seeing that boy. This had to be some weird dream of some sort. "That…that's…" He shook his head, leaning against the stone railing, his eyes narrowing as he tried to study the boy. "That...that's me. When I was seventeen years old. In Mission City, eighteen years ago."


	31. Chapter 31

Everyone could only stare at the strange phenomenon with shock and awe. They couldn't believe what they were seeing. It wasn't something that they could even think that was happening, nor could it even be explained. No one knew what they could say about what they were seeing. Not even the Autobots or the Decepticons. All just gazed at the strange ripple, with people staring right back at them almost just as shocked as they were.

Sam, Spike and the two Cybertronians finally came down from the box with Inferno and Jetfire's help and slowly approached the strange looking ripple, staring at the young boy that was supposed to be a younger Sam.

"What the…..?" Epps muttered, his eyes narrowing before they widened again when he saw a version of himself and a version of Will.

It was the strangest thing that everyone had ever seen. And it seemed so for the others through the ripple too. A younger version of Mikaela grasped at the younger Sam's arm, her eyes quite wide as she looked around through the ripple with almost fear.

"What the hell is this?" Epps muttered again, completely bewildered. "Is that us?"

"Hey, man! That's what I want to ask!" The other Epps called as he glanced side wards at the bewildered younger Will. "Hey, Will! You get what the hell is going on?"

The other Will shook his head, looking at the older version of himself before he flicked his eyes to Anna, who stared completely stunned at him. His eyes narrowed, but there seemed to be some kind of recognition in his eyes. It was the exact same look that her father had given her when they first met. She felt her lips curve a little as she glanced side wards at the older version of her father before she stepped much closer to the ripple, even with him suddenly grabbing her arm.

"No! Don't get too close, Annabelle! We don't know what this thing is!" Will suddenly told her.

The younger Will's eyes snapped wide open as his jaw fell in shock. And even the younger Epps had to gawk in surprise. They looked as if they had just been slapped for no reason at all. "What? What did you say?" The younger Will barked, looking at the older version of himself. He was looking wide eyed between his older version and Anna with alarm. "What did you call that girl?"

Anna bit her lip before she gave her father a soft smile of encouragement. She didn't understand what was going on but she did get an idea that some how…..some way, they were seeing everyone she knew now from eighteen years ago. She didn't understand it, but she wasn't the only one that was starting to make the connection. Eyes and optics were starting to dawn with understanding. They were starting to figure something out.

"Daddy." Anna whispered as she looked at the young Will. "It's me."

The younger Will narrowed his eyes, but still looking stunned. He slowly stepped closer until he was right next to the younger Sam and Mikaela. His eyes were slowly lighting up as he studied the girl. He was starting to get the idea of who she was. "What…?" He murmured softly before he tilted his head, staring at her. "Annabelle?"

Smiling softly at the younger version of Will Lennox, Anna nodded as she raised a hand in greeting. She couldn't believe this. She was looking at her father from eighteen years ago. "Daddy." She said, almost happily before she looked at the older Will as he stepped up to her side, staring back at his younger self. She held her breath for a second before she reached out and took his hand and then looked back at the past.

Will had to let his mouth curve into a smile as he looked back at himself, whose eyes were wide in wonder, just as everyone else's were.

Then the past Optimus Prime stepped much closer, looking quite as battle worn as the older version did. His head was tilted as he looked back at himself, who stared back as he held the All Spark and the Matrix of Leadership. "I don't think I understand." The younger version said before glancing over his shoulder at a younger Ratchet. "Ratchet, can you run scans? Is this some kind of trick?"

The younger Ratchet shook his head, his optics narrowing a little as he gazed back at the older Ratchet, who was way ahead of him and already scanning the strange ripples.

However, just as the red beam of the scan activated and hit the strange phenomenal event, there was a crackle of electricity and the ripples flashed before everyone, causing all to jerk back in alarm. They couldn't help but just flinch away from what they had just seen.

But nonetheless, the ripples were gone and so was the strange window to the past.

"What the hell just happened here?" it was Hardcore Eddie who asked, completely taken aback by what he seen.

No one could answer as they just stared at where the images of the past had just been right before their eyes. Optimus Prime finally looked over at Ratchet, frowning in bewilderment. He saw quite the puzzled but awe on the CMO's face, as if he had figured out what they had just witnessed. "Ratchet? What did you find?" He asked. "Was it some kind of illusion?"

Slowly, Ratchet shook his head as he stared at the results in his own CPU system. He couldn't even imagine how to explain this. "No. It was very real, Optimus. From the quick scan that I collected, that was from eighteen years ago. That was all of us. That was you, me, all of the us. That was Sam and Will Lennox and Robert Epps. And it was Mikaela Banes. But they were….I believe they were eighteen years younger than the ones we know. It was some kind of…" He was saying.

"Alternate reality? Are you fucking kidding me? We just saw some kind of time thing?" Epps asked, stunned.

For a moment no one spoke before Jetfire stepped closer to Optimus Prime, eyes burning gaze right on the two devices of power in his hands. "It must have been the All Spark and the Matrix of Leadership." He stated, almost in awe. "There has never been a time recorded that they were brought together. I only heard stories of what would have happened if they were. There was a story on Cybertron that the First Twelve Transformers spoke of. They used to say that if the two could be brought together, wonders could happen." He turned his burning eyes back to the Autobot Leader, tilting his head. "When you grabbed the All Spark from Megatron, what were you thinking?"

Taken aback, Optimus Prime stepped back away from him, almost staring in surprise at him. He wasn't too sure what too sure what he could say about it. But after a moment, he dipped his head into a nod. "I suppose I did think of a question. I did ask myself what would have happened if we had arrived here, on Earth on time. I thought of what would have happened if we could have prevented all of this from happening."

Slowly nodding, Jetfire hmphed and folded his arms. "I think we just got your answer, Optimus Prime. You asked the question and both, the All Spark and the Matrix showed us." He looked around at the wonder-filled looks on the faces of the humans, Autobots and Decepticons. "What we just saw, I believe was an alternate time reality. Something that should have happened but didn't in our time frame. We saw Optimus Prime, Ratchet, Bumblebee, and Ironhide actually be here when they should have."

"Dude, I saw me, too." Jazz said, not sound at all pleased. "Didn't anyone see me in Optimus' hands, torn in two? Primus! How in the name of Primus did I get like that? That is SO NOT COOL!"

A few smiles cracked as everyone eyed the small Autobot before they decided to not even talk about it. The humans and the Autobots looked around at Starscream and the Decepticons as they just stood around, looking at all of them with forlorn or unease.

"I also saw Megatron lying dead on the ground with a huge hole in his chest." Starscream stated before he lift his head and looked directly at Optimus Prime. "I'm guessing that something must have happened that might have helped show THEM what would have happened if you Autobots didn't show up eighteen years ago."

Slowly nodding, Optimus Prime understood it now. He understood that some part of the powers of the All Spark and the Matrix of Leadership had showed them something that would have changed. A question must have been asked by someone of that time. Everyone could only wonder who had thought such a question. But instead of dwelling on the past images they saw, the Prime looked around at all of the Decepticons before turning his eyes back onto Starscream. "It's over, Starscream. Megatron is dead. You are now the Leader of the Decepticons."

"Unless someone wants to challenge me for it." Starscream growled before looking warningly around at all of the Decepticons. "So, who wants to challenge me or will you all accept it?"

No Decepticon spoke as they glanced at one another, some more uneasy than others. Some didn't look like they were going to challenge the Con that had just taken down the All Powerful Megatron. Most looked quite uneasy about doing it.

"Well? You all willing to follow me or what?" Starscream demanded again.

Again, there was a moment's silence before Thundercracker and Skywarp stepped forward and stood right beside their aerial brother, looking tall and proud as they looked around at the others. "We will follow you no matter what you do or where you go, Starscream." The first spoke up. The second just nodded.

Grunting, Barricade stepped forward, with his team mates and stood right beside them. "That goes for us too. I don't care for you, Screamer, being leader but you're a better leader than that power hungry pitspawn Megatron was. The Race Track Squad is behind you." He muttered before glaring around at the other Decepticons, with everyone. "Well? You all just going to sit there, staring? Are ya with us or not?"

A moment's pause, before all of the Decepticons glanced around at their neighbors and then they all looked back at Starscream, straightening like proud warriors. Not one looked like they were going to protest to Starscream's new leadership at all. "All Hail Lord Starscream! Leader of the Decepticons!" Every single Decepticon boomed out before they bent down to one knee, one by one.

Smirking to himself, Starscream stood up as straight as he could go before turning back to Optimus Prime, who was watching him carefully. "That's settled then. I am the Leader of the Decepticons now." He stated the obvious.

"And what is your future plans? Does this pitiful war that Megatron started continue or does it end?" Optimus Prime asked, frowning carefully watching the New Leader of the Decepticons.

For a moment, Starscream narrowed his eyes as if he was questioning that, himself. But then his eyes flickered downward to where Anna was watching him almost hopefully. She was biting her lip nervously, hoping that it would all be over. It was a look that he knew well. He turned his burning eyes back towards Optimus Prime before holding out his clawed hand towards him. "No. The war is over. I have had enough fighting you, Autobots. I proclaim that we end it, peacefully." He told him.

Smiling faintly, Optimus Prime just nodded before he placed the All Spark into Starscream's hand, surprising all; including the Decepticon Leader himself. "Then it is peace that will be." He spoke softly, still holding the All Spark with Starscream. "The war is over. And to make sure it stays that way, swear by Primus that it is."

Snorting, Starscream jerked his head into a nod. "Very well, Prime. By the name of Primus, the All Creator of Cybertronians, I, Starscream, claim peace between the Autobots and Decepticons. As long as I am alive," He turned a warning look onto all of the Decepticons still functional. "The peace will remain. Anyone object to that?" He growled.

No one spoke but all held up their heads; each giving a nod or just looking like they would agree.

"Peace between Autobots and Decepticons." Chuckled Jetfire, shaking his head as he folded his large arms across his chest. "Never thought I would live to see the day that this bloody, pathetic war would have ended in peace."

All Cybertronians and humans smiled.

"But what about Earth? Are we still slaves to the Decepticons?" it was Stackhouse who asked, looking questionably at Starscream.

Starscream spared a glance with Optimus Prime before he dropped his claw, allowing the Autobot Leader to keep a hold of the All Spark. "No. The Decepticons will not rule Earth any more. Megatron is the one who brought slavery to this planet. And I will be the one to end it. All human kind will be freed from their Decepticon Masters." He glanced at Anna, who smiled brightly. "And we will leave Earth and return to Cybertron, all the while trying to find a way to bring it back to life."

The smile on Anna's face was gone as her eyes lit up in surprise. She was not the only one to looked surprised by the proclamation. Even some of the Decepticons looked upset at the idea of leaving Earth; though some weren't too keen on giving up their human slaves.

"What?" Anna asked, stepping away from her father, looking almost horrified. "You're….you're leaving?"

Starscream just looked down at her but shook his head as he bent down to one knee, hovering over her. "Anna, why do we need to stay? The war is over. The Autobots and your kind have won the planet back for you. We, Decepticons, are the ones who placed Earth in this sorry state. It's only right that we leave it, banished and exiled from it. Never to return for the crimes we have done to it. It's only right." He told her.

Anna shook her head, her eyes starting to water. It was true that the Decepticons had created Hell on Earth for the humans. And Starscream had done serious wrong to her. He had murdered her mother. He had killed Pete and Jesse. He had done serious wrong just like the other Decepticons did. But…she didn't want to see him go. "No." She began to sob, her head lowering. "Starscream, please don't go. I don't…..I don't…"

Sighing, Starscream reached down and placed a claw under her chin, lifting her head up again as he looked right into her eyes. "Why in the name of Primus would you want me to stay after all that I have done to you and your people, Anna? Why are you crying for me?" He asked almost wearily. "Sometimes I just don't understand you."

Shaking her head again, Anna sniffed before reaching up and wiping her tears. "You did a lot of bad to me, Starscream. Yeah, I'll admit that. But you also did a lot of good." She received a surprised look from not only from him but many others. "You….could say that you bought me and my mom from the slavers. But in a way…you also saved us. Yes, we were slaves. But…..you treated us; mom, me, Judy and Jesse better than any other Decepticon would to their own slaves. You raised me like…..I was your own in your own twisted way. You taught me everything that I know. How to read and write English and in Cybertronian. You saved me from the Reavers when Sparkplug was killed. You taught me how to fight." She smiled softly up at him. "You're my friend." She told him.

For a moment, Starscream stared at her in surprise. It was like he couldn't believe she would even say something like that. But after a moment, his harsh red glare softened greatly before he hissed and wrapped a claw around her waist, carefully lifting her up into his hand.

There were a few gasps and hisses from Autobots and humans as they watched Starscream pick her up. Many of the Autobots tensed up, looking ready to leap forward to save her if they had to.

But what surprised most was that Optimus Prime, Ironhide, Bumblebee, and Will stayed relaxed as they watched with soft looks on their faces. They didn't look worried at all. Especially Ironhide. He was snorting to himself as he folded his arms across his chest and shook his head as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing but he was amused by it.

Everyone just watched as Starscream brought Anna to his chest and embraced her softly with his claws.

"I will miss you, Anna." The New Decepticon Leader whispered but everyone heard it anyway.

"No you fragging will not." Ironhide suddenly spoke up, surprising all and making everyone look at him with alarm. Even Anna and Starscream looked over at him with surprise. The Autobot Weapons Specialist just shook his head as he held up his head high with a smirk on his face. "You ain't going anywhere. Right, Optimus?"

Frowning, Starscream looked over at Optimus Prime, who seemed to understand very well what Ironhide was asking of him. He just smiled with a light nod before he stepped closer to Starscream. "Starscream, as you said before. You and the Decepticons did a lot of damage to this world. You caused a lot of harm to its people. But the thing is, what you broke, you can fix." He said in a strong but kind voice. "You have a choice to leave Earth or stay to fix what you have done to it. You and the Decepticons can stay here, as long as you will work with us, the Autobots to help the humans put right to their planet." He looked down at Sam then to Will and Epps and then around at all of the humans. "Peace between Autobots, Decepticons and humans alike. We can only work together as long as we are together. With your people's permission, we, Cybertronians would like to help rebuild your world from the ashes that the Decepticons have caused."

For a long time, no one spoke. Anna felt her breath sticking her chest, hoping that the rest of everyone would agree. She didn't want to see the Autobots or the Decepticons leave. Well…..at least she didn't want Starscream to leave. If he stayed, the others could to. They would have to trust him to keep them in line.

Will, Epps and Sam looked at one another before looking around at all of the humans within the arena. Everyone was silent; either uneasy, confused or as if they were actually accepting the proposal.

And it seemed that they all came to agreement.

Will looked back at Optimus Prime and smiled faintly. "Optimus Prime, there is a saying that we had on Earth. Not everyone in the world will agree with it. But in a way….." He glanced up at Anna, who smiled brightly as if she understood his look. "The saying is, everyone deserves a second chance to put things right. We will give Starscream and the Decepticons a second chance to redeem their selves. As long as they never enslave or endanger another human again." He said, before looking at Starscream.

Starscream's eyes softened a little before he looked around at all of the humans and saw them nodding as if they agreed with what William Lennox was saying. He couldn't believe they were giving him and the Decepticons a second chance on Earth. After all they did, they had the very right to kick their afts off their soil and back into cold, empty space. He glanced around at all of the Decepticons and was mildly surprised to see that many were looking happy to hear that they were getting another chance. They were all nodding at him as saying that they would try.

Smirking, the New Decepticon Leader looked back at Will and nodded. "We agree with your terms." He looked up at Optimus Prime. "I suppose the term you could make it sound like, we will do Community Service to mend the damage we have done." He said firmly.

The entire arena erupted in cheers; humans, Autobots and Decepticons alike. It was definitely a proud day of peace. They were taking a step in the right direction of rebuilding their futures together. And maybe…just maybe they could do it right this time.

"Hey! I just remembered!" Hardcore Eddie called over all of the cheers, making everyone look over at him. He was frowning as he eyed the still form of Megatron. "Megatron…..before he died. He said something. He said now we have to deal with him. Who's the Him that he was talking about?"

All Decepticons went suddenly dead silent as if they were too afraid to even say what Megatron had said. The Autobots and humans were slow to follow, wondering why many of them looked uneasily at one another. No one chose to say the answer. But then Starscream, carefully holding Anna out to a rather surprised Bumblebee; which she looked rather pleased with a blush on her face, shook his head as he locked eyes with Optimus Prime. "Oh, that was just Lord Unicron, the Dark God of Cybertron that Megatron was talking about. He was talking about how the Planet Eater is drifting in the dark reaches of space, towards Earth, ready to consume all of the Energon we ever collected from here."

Everyone went dead silent as eyes snapped wide open and jaws fell in shock.

"WHAT? UNICRON IS COMING HERE?"


	32. Epilogue: Part One

::Epilogue Part one::

Everyone couldn't help but just stare at the place where the strange event had just taken place. They couldn't even think of what had just happened at all. It had just happened out of no where, with no explanations at all. They had just finished having a huge battle and then that had happened?

"Does anyone know what the hell just happened?" Lieutinent Epps remarked, scratching the back of his head.

No one answered as they glanced at him before Optimus Prime looked over at his Chief Medical Officer, Ratchet, who did look rather puzzled about it. "Ratchet, do you think you can explain what we just witnessed?" He had to ask.

Ratchet shook his head as he looked back at the Autobot Leader. "I'm not too sure. I started to run a scan, just like…uh, well, like the other Ratchet had done but I didn't get a full report. From what I could see from my results, that was a completely different time and space dimention. Like…an alternative time dimention. I think…..that Optimus we saw was you but it was a different you. From a different time. Maybe….years from now. Something in that time dimention…something must have happened to make it look rather darker than this time."

"I dunno about all of you guys," Ironhide grunted, looking quite bewildered. "But I think I just saw the so called different time us standing around with a bunch of Decepticons. Did I really just see Starscream with us and not trying to kick our afts?"

Everyone grimaced.

"Was that…was that really me?" Sam, the seventeen year old asked, quite flabbergasted. He looked at Mikaela, who shrugged and shook her head. "I looked like I was in my thirties or something."

"I don't get it." Mikaela said, looking around at everyone. "What just…..how did that even happen?"

For a moment, no one spoke as they looked just as puzzled as she and Sam did. No one knew what they could say about it.

But then Optimus Prime frowned before he looked at the burned out hole in Megatron's chest, noting that there was a small shard of the All Spark left. His eyes brightened a little as he bent down and picked it up before he frowned again and looked back at where the strange time ripples had happened. "Hmm. Curious. I believe I saw the All Spark in my future's hands. And the All Spark in this time had been destroyed." He stated.

"So…what does that mean?" Ironhide grunted in confusion.

"I think….." Sam muttered thoughtfully. "I think…well, it sounds crazy but then again we just saw some kind alternate reality just now. But I think that was the future that could have happened." He looked wide eyed up at Optimus Prime. "Is it possible for time to split because of certain events? What if…that could have been our future if you guys didn't even show up in time before the Decepticons reached Megatron and the All Spark?" He grimaced knowing how that sounded. "That's…..kind of what I was thinking when I shoved the All Spark into Megatron's chest. I was thinking…what would have happened if you never came at all?"

Everyone grimaced at the thought.

But it was Will Lennox who was still staring right at the spot where he had seen his future self. He had heard Sam's questions. And it did make him wonder. Especially after seeing….that girl with his future self. She had only been a kid, a teenager. So it must have…..it must have been….."I think it did happen in that time frame." He received several surprised looks from everyone as he just stared at the area that the time ripples had occurred. "I think that something…..happened that lead up to that point in time. Maybe….your Camaro didn't send off the message to Optimus and the Autobots in time." He looked around at everyone with a firm look. "What if in that time, everything before you guy showed up did happen but something happened to change it. You never came. What would have happened if the Decepticons got to the All Spark and Megatron first?"

For a moment, no one said a word as the Autobots spared a grimace to one another. They weren't even sure how to answer that.

But then Optimus Prime sighed, lifting his head up high. "It would be more than likely that the Decepticons would have killed many humans on Earth and enslaved all of those that remained. You might be right on what you're thinking, Captain Lennox. That was us in a different time. But the question we must ask, if we did not come to Earth in time to help you, then what did happen?" He asked the million dollar that had everyone reeling.

Will shared a glance with Epps and then the two teenagers. He did have a thought but it was more like a guess. Especially after seeing…."Annabelle." He murmured, getting a surprised look from everyone. He slowly smiled as he held the picture of his daughter's face, her future face. "My daughter, Annabelle. That girl was my daughter. The one that the other Bumblebee was holding." He looked around, his eyes soft. "I'm getting the feeling that she has everything to do with what we just saw. And with Starscream hovering over Bumblebee like he just had been, why do I get the feeling he had this…..protective look right on her?"

Eyes went wide at the thought.

"Starscream? Protective over a human? Yeah, fragging right." Ironhide grumbled but was still reeling at the idea.

Optimus Prime gave the ripple area a glance before his eyes softened as he remembered just how Starscream and Bumblebee hadn't been the only ones he had seen hovering over that girl. He remembered how Ironhide had been close to the Decepticon Seeker without trying to shoot his head right off his shoulders. "I don't know, Ironhide. It was a different time dimention. And it was in the future from what we could see. Maybe…..just maybe, it something that can happen." He muttered mostly to himself but everyone heard him anyway.


	33. Epilogue: Part Two

::Epilogue Part Two::

The celebration was a big one and everyone was enjoying their selves. A lot of people couldn't believe that things were changing so fast and in a way that no one could ever believe in. Everyone couldn't believe that the Decepticons were actually going to stay on Earth and help the Autobots rebuild what they had destroyed.

But one thing was for sure, they knew it was going to be very interesting.

Mikaela had ran at Sam and Spike, gathering both of them with tight hugs and kisses after they had returned. She was sobbing so hard as she held her son in her arms and kissing Sam. Everyone was just so happy to see that the war was finally over.

And it had called for a celebration.

Anna was enjoying her time with her father while both Ironhide and Starscream were looming behind them, glowering at each other. They were in better terms, yes. But it didn't mean that they approved of each other trying to be protective over Annabelle Lennox. They had had a very heated argument over who was going to be her Guardian and who wouldn't be, even though the Autobot Weapons Specialist had already had claimed her and Will such as.

But even as the celebration went on, there was only one that had Anna's attention as she watched him cheerfully talking to the twins.

And it didn't go un-noticed by a few eyes.

"Hey, Anna." Epps said, nudging her arm and getting her attention. He was smiling rather slyly as she frowned at him. "So, when you gonna tell him?"

Anna stiffened and looked at him with a frown. She didn't understand what he was talking about at all. "Huh? Tell who what?" She asked him, tilting her head rather innocently, even with her father and so called two Guardians watching with smirks on their face.

"When you going to tell Bumblebee you got the hots for him?" Epps asked grinning.

Face flashing bright red, Anna dipped her head down to hide her embarrassment while her father, Epps and the two grumpy mechs barked with laughter, though it looked more like Starscream was scowling about the thought that Anna liked an Autobot. "I…..I…um…..I don't…..know…what…" Anna had tried to say.

"Give it some time, Anna." Will said gently smiling at her. He wrapped an arm around her. "You still have Luc too, you know? He's been awfully worried about you since you were taken. But no matter what you're decision is, the man or the Autobot, I will approve either one as long as he makes you happy."

Anna gave him a grateful smile. "I doubt Bee even likes me like…AHHHH!" She gasped when a hand wrapped around her waist and lift her up before she found herself being nuzzled by the very spoken person.

"A…..Are….you…ki-ki-kidding?" Bumblebee asked, still having a little trouble with his voice after Ratchet and Groundhog worked together to try and repair his voice processor. He nearly laughed at the wide eyed, surprised look on Anna's face but didn't pay too much mind to it. He just held her close to his chest, looking softly down at her. "I love you! And I'll never let you go!" He played a few random radio clips right out of his radio system.

Anna just blushed.

And far across the camp, Luc was glowering at the yellow and black robot that dared to say such words to the girl he'd been wanting to catch the heart of for a while now.

Well, this was definitely going to be a very interesting thing to go through right now. She knew that Luc was interested into her. And now Bumblebee? That was going to be a problem with two guys trying to gain her heart and she didn't even have a clue who she would like more. This would definitely be very interesting.

Espeically with the knowledge that Starscream had just given to her, the Autobots and the rest of all of the humans.

There was a very dangerous Cybertronian out there in space, making his way towards Earth. The Cybertronian Dark God, Unicron was said to be making his way towards their planet, with the intentions of devoyering everything.

But Anna was sure that with the Autobots and the Decepticons, things would be just fine.

She hoped anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Notice:
> 
> Well, everyone! That is the end of SOS! But have no fear, I am currently working on a continuing story. Just to clear a few things up, what everyone saw was some kind of Time and Space Alternate thing. It all dealt with questions that was asked by Past Sam and even Future Optimus Prime when they even used the All Spark.
> 
> In all honesty, I know that might be a little confusing. I wrote this story from a dream that I had, dealing with Annabelle Lennox. Almost everything that I wrote I had dreamed about. So I was mostly following that. There were some added differences.
> 
> Alice, for one. I was going to make her be the threat against Anna but people started guessing about her and I decided to change it to throw everyone in a loop. I'm just glad that it worked out for the best.
> 
> Anyway, I am planning the sequel; that is if anyone really wants it. It will definitely be interesting from what I have planned for it. But we shall see when I finally get it up.


End file.
